Release the Wolves
by sarini
Summary: COMPLETE! Prequel to Unlocking Harry Potter and Finding the Key. What shaped Remus Lupin into the man that the thirteen year old Harry Potter met? Spans over twenty years. Multiple pairings, including SLASH.
1. Prologue: Childhood

**Disclosure:** The world of Harry Potter and the vast majority of the characters found in this story are the sole property of JK Rowling. If I held the copyright I would not currently be looking for a job.

**A/N: **The first few years of the Marauders' time at Hogwarts are a bit shorter than might be expected for one simple reason. Harry's life has many more adventures and excitement than the normal wizard's. While the Marauders are not normal per se, they do not live in constant danger from an evil overlord any more than the others of their time. Multiple pairings.

**Summary: **What shaped Remus Lupin into the man met by a thirteen year old Harry Potter? MWPP Era. Same universe as _Unlocking Harry Potter_.

Release the Wolves

**Prologue: Childhood**

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It was a game he played, escaping from his babysitter. He knew his cousin wouldn't find him this time. He was not restless and fidgety like many others his age, but could sit still and entertain himself for hours. That day he gazed up at the sky as it darkened. The moon had been visible even before the sun began to sink. Now it was glowing brightly, a bright beautiful brilliant orb in the sky. He loved the moon and the stars. He played connect-the-dots with the stars, tracing them with his finger and naming the shapes he drew, making up stories behind them as his father often did.

Two loud cracks told him his parents had come home. He gave the stars and the moon one last longing look and headed towards the house. It was the first time he had hidden outside, but the night was so light that day. As he walked towards the back door he saw it swing open and the light glowed around his father. He grinned and waved, then froze when he heard the growl behind him. He knew he was not supposed to be outside alone at night, but not why.

"Course loin Remy! Run!" the voice of his father commanded with a hint of panic in both French and English.

His father was not the type to panic. He obeyed and ran. Jets of light shot past him as his father yelled out curses, running towards him. His mother shrieked from inside the house. He had only taken a few steps when he was pushed to the ground from behind, knocking the breath out of him. He was rolled over to face the sky and instinctually held his arms up to shield his face. A scream ripped out of his throat as teeth ripped into his arm. Green light shot out of his father's wand and a hot mass of fur fell on top of him, still holding his arm in its mouth. He saw the stars and the moon fade away.

oOo

"Your mother is not coming back," the man he looked nothing like, with the exception of the sandy color of his hair, told him. He could remember the days when they were all happy, when he got kisses and hugs before bed and when he woke and whenever they said hello or good-bye, and sometimes just because. Those hugs and kisses were only a memory now that he wrapped himself in like a blanket when he was cold and alone. "We are moving."

"Where will Maman stay?" the boy asked in his native French.

"With her family," answered the father in his native English, which the boy spoke and read just as well as French.

The boy nodded, oddly calm given the situation. The Bonacieux family did not like him now, and they blamed his father... not the girl cousin that had not found him outside and not his mother. They were blood. It was three years since the bite, three years since the hugs and kisses disappeared to be replaced by stony silence, three years since his mother's family stopped even looking his way. To them he no longer existed. He was still on the family tapestry. They did not go as far as disowning him, such an action would be beneath them, but his name was ignored. The father and son left France for the father's native Great Britain and didn't look back.

They lived a solitary life. The father had very little family left and he was not close to them as they were all muggles and did not understand the world of the father and son. It was quickly established that the boy could be trusted on his own. The father left assignments while he went to work that were always completed when he arrived back home. They did not talk much. The boy could see it when he looked at his father. When he caught him off guard the pain was there in his dark brown eyes. The boy looked just like his mother, and it was his fault she was gone. His father loved his mother still, though he would not even speak her name.

The letter came on his eleventh birthday, surprising them both. That day brought more conversation than had existed at one time in the house in the four years that the small family lived there. Though he had been taught to control his emotions at all times, as his condition enhanced his anger and made him stronger, the boy had gotten angry for the first time in many years when his father began to write out a polite refusal.

"I want to go!" he yelled. They both ignored the glass that shattered across the room.

The father stayed calm, as he had when the boy had lashed out when he was younger, "No. If you go, they will hurt you."

The anger smoldered inside the boy and his eyes flashed as he glared at his father but his voice was cold and cutting, "I'd rather they hurt me than spend the rest of my life locked up here with _you!_"

He had instantly regretted his bitter words, but his father had thrown the reply in the fire as the boy stormed away. The next day his father had gone to talk to the headmaster and the boy waited anxiously at home. The headmaster had somehow convinced his father and the boy didn't care how. All he cared about was that he was going to school. The argument was never revisited.

"Have you packed everything?"

"Yes Father."

"Do you remember how to catch your train?"

"Yes Father."

"Good," there was a knock at the door. "That's the taxi. Hurry now or we'll both be late."

ooOOoo

A hand cuffed him on the back of his head then gripped the back of his shirt and started to drag him inside. His oldest cousin had been babysitting him and his baby brother, and his two other cousins, both girls. This could only mean that his parents were home and not happy.

"Owww, quit it you harpy!" he demanded. "Banshee breath."

That only earned him another smack, "Your mother is furious. Just wait until she hears you were playing with muggles!"

The girl that had him by the collar of his shirt, the middle child of his three cousins cackled at the promise of a loud lecture. She was the sadistic one and always loved to see him get in trouble. Though he didn't intend to – really, he swore he didn't – he provided her with plenty of entertainment that way. The door slammed behind them and he was dragged towards the parlor where he would not doubt face his mother's formidable wrath. She could make a nundu or a dragon shrink back in fear when she got going.

"I don't see what's wrong with muggles!" he might as well bring the whole world down with him if he was in trouble.

"Muggles are filthy animals! They are beneath you. If I catch you associating with them one more time you will not be able to sit or lie down for a week," the boy winced. She flicked her wand and it felt like something very rough rubbed all his skin hard. "Kreacher!"

A small creature, a young house elf, popped into the room and squeaked a reply, "Yes Mistress?"

"Draw a bath at once for the young Master. Make certain he washes the filthy stink of the muggles off and burn the clothing he is wearing. He is to be locked in his room tonight with no dinner and take away his toys," the Mistress of the house commanded.

The boy looked over to his father, who just reclined in the background with the _Daily Prophet_ and mostly ignored the proceedings. Raising the children and directing the management of the house was his wife's job. When he concerned himself with the children, which was rarely, it was to correct a fault or give instruction. He never interfered with punishments.

"And you," the boy's mother spun and glared at his oldest cousin. The boy instantly felt incredibly guilty for getting her in trouble. He liked her much more than her sisters. "You were trusted to keep him out of trouble! Your parents will be hearing about this you irresponsible, worthless chit! Both of you get out of my sight this instant!"

The boy gulped and ran upstairs. He knew that being sent to his room without any dinner that night was only the beginning of his punishment.

oOo

Five years later he was sure his parents had forgotten that incident, but he hadn't. He knew now exactly why he wasn't supposed to be around muggles, but he didn't entirely agree. It had become almost painfully easy to lie and to laugh at the stories his parents and their friends would tell when they had a dinner party. At night though, he often sat at his window and gazed out at the children playing in the streets, wishing he could join them.

The day after he had been caught playing with the muggle children from the neighborhood the boy's mother had dragged him into the room that held the pensieve with his ancestors' memories, the room he was not allowed to enter on his own. She had thrust a wand in his hand and forced him to watch the memories of the burnings and the hunts.

Somehow he had accessed other memories, memories he was sure he wasn't supposed to see. He saw muggles being tortured and murdered. He saw muggle-born witches and wizards suffering at the hands of pureblooded witches and wizards like him and his family, some of them he recognized from portraits of his family. He had emerged from the pensieve sufficiently shaken and been sent back to his room to think about what he had seen, again with no food.

He had thought about it. Five years later he was still thinking about it. The conclusion he came to was that wizards and muggles alike were violent. He was just as likely to suffer at the hands of one as the other. He never told his mother what he had decided, as he knew even then what her response would be. Instead he hid his beliefs and tried to ignore the stories. He would think of a prank he could play and laugh at that.

"We won't wait all day for you brat!" the shrill voice of his cousin called. "The train leaves at eleven and you will not make us late!"

He rolled his eyes and picked up his trunk, his owl resting on top of it in his cage. He made his way down the stairs to where his two cousins were waiting for him, his little brother tagging behind.

"I'll write you as soon as I can, Reg," he gave his brother a quick hug.

His brother sniffed and hugged him back and was pulled away roughly by their mother, "What are you thinking? Put on robes this instant. You will not leave this house dressed like that! Regulus stopped sniffling like that!"

He looked at her in confusion. The train station was so close to the house, "But... I thought..."

The older of the two girls in the front hall snorted, "We're taking the Floo to the station, idiot. We do not travel like muggles," she spat the last word as though it left a dirty taste in her mouth.

The boy flinched but thought rebelliously, _Walking is beneath us? _The train station wasn't far. He had walked there before. He opened his trunk to fish out a set of robes that he assumed would soon bear the Slytherin crest like those of his cousin.

"Finally," the younger cousin tossed her hair in irritation.

ooOOoo

Three boys ran crashing through the underbrush. They were laughing so hard they almost couldn't hear the yells of their tutor. She was demanding they return to the manor that instant. It was the first warm day of the spring, though, and they had been saving that particular distraction for the perfect day. They reached the pond that could just barely be seen from the highest windows of the manor. One by one they stripped off their shirts, swung out over the water on a long piece of rope, and let go to fall into the pond with a great splash.

"That was brilliant!" the smallest of the three exclaimed.

"Of course it was. It was my idea," proclaimed the boy who lived in the manor.

The third shook his head, "Your mum's not going to be happy."

The dark haired boy just laughed, "If I didn't make her mad at least once a week she'd think I was sick or something. It's my duty to cause chaos. I'm just fulfilling my role in life. Anyway my father and uncle will love it."

"I just hope she doesn't tell my mum," the smallest boy lamented.

"It's too late for cold feet now!" the dark haired boy dove under the water.

The small boy pouted, "Rachel will make us work extra hard now."

The blond haired boy shrugged, "It's all stuff we need to learn anyhow." He dove below as well and the dark haired boy popped up across the lake.

"That's easy for you to say," the small boy spluttered as a wave of water hit him in the face and then forgot his complaints as he retaliated.

The dark haired boy laughed as he remembered that day. They had all been punished and given extra work by their tutor, but it hadn't stopped them from skiving off on their lessons again or pranking their tutor. As his father would always comment, boys will be boys. His room looked as though a whirlwind had attacked it as he threw belongings into his trunk, took some out, then put some back in. He had packed and unpacked, then packed again so many times he had lost count.

"Look at this mess!" his mother exclaimed as she burst into the room. She brandished her wand and started summoning items from his trunk. "Dungbombs, stink pellets, Ice Mice, where did you get Blood Pops young man and _what in Merlin's name_ do you intend to do with them?"

"Mum!" the boy exclaimed in indignation. His Uncle Clive had bought them at his request, laughing the whole time. Uncle Clive was just as bad as his father, and sometimes worse as he didn't have any children of his own.

"I don't want to hear it!" she stopped his protests. "If you want to go to Hogwarts tomorrow morning you will clean up your room this instant and have your trunk ready for inspection within an hour!"

He pouted, but knew it wouldn't make a difference. She began to stalk out of his room but stopped and summoned his brand new wand, eleven inches, mahogany, pliable. Mr. Ollivander said it would be excellent for transfiguration. He just couldn't wait.

"Aww... Mum!"

"You know you're not allowed to perform any magic outside of Hogwarts!"

He scuffed his toe on the carpet, "Yes, Mum."

The boy was like a whirlwind himself as he shoved the clothes he wasn't taking into his wardrobe. He wouldn't need dress robes, or dress shoes until third year at least. With a sigh his broom was set to rest on its wall mount. He knew he wouldn't be able to sneak it in, not after his mum had had lunch with Professor McGonagall just a few days before and most likely thoroughly warned his future Head of House. The inspection came and went and his mother magically locked his trunk, with a promise to unlock it in the train station the next morning.

"Has she inspected it yet?" a voice whispered from the other side of a door.

The boy giggled as his father snuck into his room in a crouch, "Yes Dad."

"Good," the father unlocked the trunk and pulled a bundle out of his robes. "Now, your great-grandfather gave this cloak to your grandfather for his first year at Hogwarts, and your grandfather gave it to me. Just don't let your Mum know I'm passing it to you." The boy eyed the shimmering cloak in awe as his father tucked it under the robes his mother had neatly folder with a single flick of her wand. The stories he heard about that cloak were enough to fuel the wildest imagination. He then pulled out a paper bag, "Your Uncle Clive and I thought you should have some supplies with you. _Engorgio!_"

The contents of the bag expanded and several books and a few boxes were revealed. The boy's eyes lit up at the title he saw on the top, _Potions for Pranksters_, "Thanks Dad." He hugged his father fiercely before the bundle was shrunk once again and hidden in the trunk.

The father ruffled the always messy hair of his son, "Just remember to send a note to your uncle, and let both of us know when you put these to good use... and remember that enlarging charm."

Matching mischievous grins lit up the faces of both father and son, "Oh I will."

"Carry on the family tradition, son," the father locked the trunk again and snuck out of his son's room.

The next morning was only one of a few days in the year where the son was the first one out of bed, the mother having learned early on that the longer he was awake without supervision the worse shape the house would be in when she woke. He wolfed down a large breakfast and stood in the entrance hall impatiently waiting for his mother.

"Mum," he whined, drawing out her name, "we're gonna be late!"

"We have over an hour before we have to leave," she called from the dining room. "If you bother me again before then you won't go to school at all!"

The boy knew it was empty threat. His mother had been counting the days until September first the same as he, only she was looking for some peace and quiet.

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Please Review!

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	2. 1: The Marauders Meet

**First Year**

**Chapter One: The Marauders Meet**

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A small sandy haired boy wheeled a large trolley on which rested a battered trunk towards platforms nine and ten in Kings Cross Station. At first glance he was like any other eleven-year-old boy, only a little small and quiet for his age. A closer look would show a weariness of spirit, though not of body, not often seen in a child so young. His eyes reflected a deep knowledge of pain and suffering. Neither of his parents accompanied him, he hadn't even seen his mother in four years, so the boy kept a sharp eye out for some sort of indicator for how to catch his train.

He was more aware of his surroundings than the average eleven-year-old. The process of getting to the train had been described to him by his father once again as he dropped him off that morning, but he wasn't sure he understood. He had not expected to be accepted into school with his... condition... and the past few weeks had been a rush of preparation, new clothes, new books, new wand, the list went on and on. He had read all his books in preparation, though he already knew most of what they contained, hoping it would be enough to prove he belonged in school.

A confident boy with dark messy hair and sparkling dark hazel eyes was desperately trying to escape his doting mother. He was wearing muggle clothes, jeans and a bright red shirt. The trunk on his trolley was not new, but of obviously high quality, the brass fastenings shiny and the leather straps smooth. He was energetic and loud and clearly did not care that he was attracting attention as his trunk was jostled on his trolley and the owl in the cage resting atop it squawked. It was the type of trunk that was passed from generation to generation. This alone identified the boy as coming from a pureblood family, and a wealthy one at that.

"Mum," the boy whined, "I can catch the train myself. Uncle Clive already told me how. He and Dad told me _everything_."

The mother gave her son an uncertain look, "Are you sure James?"

Sensing victory, the boy gave his mother a dazzling smile, and stopped whining, "I'll be fine Mum, no need to worry about me!"

"Alright then," the mother leaned down and hugged her son who wriggled to escape her grasp. "You behave now! I don't want one letter from your Head of House telling me you've turned everyone's skin green, or gotten into a duel!"

"Blech, green is a _Slytherin _color Mum!" the boy made a face.

"James Aaron Potter," the mother said in the tone that all mothers used when their children were one step away from a long lecture.

"No pranks Mum, I promise!" the boy started to push his trolley away from his mother before she could change her mind. "I'll owl you and Dad about my sorting!"

The dark haired boy pushed his trolley up parallel with the sandy haired boy, "Phew, I thought she'd never leave. Hogwarts?"

The sandy haired boy nodded, "You're a first year too?"

"Yup, James Potter," he held out a hand and tried to keep his trolley from veering off course.

"Remus Lupin," the sandy haired boy replied quietly and shook hands quickly.

The owl on James's trolley squawked loudly as the trolley nearly tipped over, but was saved at last minute, "I'll almost certainly be in Gryffindor. Every Potter for centuries has been in Gryffindor and I don't think I would really fit any other house. I suppose I'm cunning enough for Slytherin," he shuddered, "but that house is full of dark wizards. What house do you think you'll be in?"

Remus shrugged and marveled at the speed of James's speech. It was as if the other boy didn't even need to breathe, "Ravenclaw maybe?"

"That wouldn't be too bad," James grinned. Remus was quiet but James felt somewhat drawn to him. The boy had a powerful aura about him, "Shall we take it at a run?"

Remus nodded, hoping James was talking about the barrier, and allowed James to lead the way. The darker haired boy took off, straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten, and Remus followed. Right when he thought they might crash against the bricks and make a scene there was no obstruction. Remus had never seen anything like it. The scarlet engine was steaming and a whistle blew. The train was scheduled to leave in twenty-five minutes.

"C'mon!" James tugged at Remus's sleeve. "Let's find a compartment. I bet Peter already got one. His mum gets him everywhere early."

Remus just nodded and continued to follow, not bothering to ask who Peter was. He had no friends that would be going to this school with him, actually no friends at all, and he had to be very careful about making friends. His father had warned him about getting too close to people. Once they found out they would be scared, and frightened people could do unpredictable things.

The pudgy boy looked up when his compartment door slammed open, just in time to see the blur of black and red descending on him. He instantly shrunk back in the face of attack but breathed a sigh of relief when he recognized his friend. James ruffled his hair and Peter, at least Remus assumed that's who it was, reached up to flatten it again.

"Just because your hair is never neat James, doesn't mean the rest of us should suffer with you," he complained and pouted.

"Aw Petey," James grinned and heaved his trunk up onto the overhead rack, "you know I love you. Seen Frank around yet?"

Peter shook his head and saw the boy standing behind James, looking like he was trying to blend into the woodwork and doing a fairly good job of it. He wasn't wearing jeans and t-shirts like James and Peter, but neatly pressed trousers and a plaid button-down shirt. James turned and helped him get his trunk positioned, as the other boy probably wouldn't have been able to reach.

"I'm Peter Pettigrew," Peter held his hand out and received a shake. "James has no manners, but he was born that way."

"Remus Lupin," Remus replied in a soft voice that still carried well and sat down. He was not accustomed to socializing with other boys his age, or anyone for that matter. He sat down and smoothed the imagined wrinkles in his trousers.

"Muggle-born?" Peter asked and cocked his head to the side.

Remus shook his head, "My dad was and we live in a muggle neighborhood. Maman's a pureblood. She went to Beauxbaton."

The train started and James and Peter got into a lengthy conversation about quidditch teams. Remus had read all about quidditch, and pretty much everything else in the wizarding world, but he had never been to a game. After the bite seven years ago Simeon Lupin had kept Remus away from other people. At times he thought his father was embarrassed of him, but over time he had learned that it was his father's way of protecting him, especially after the reaction of his mother's family. This was the first time away from his father that he could remember.

"James! Peter!" a stocky medium blond with chocolate brown eyes burst into the compartment. "You'll never believe it!"

"Hey Frank!" Peter greeted the newcomer. "This is Remus Lupin. Remus, meet Frank Longbottom."

"Hi," Remus nodded.

"Hey," Frank nodded. "I just saw Severus Snape and Sirius Black. They were tormenting a muggle-born and she hexed them good. Snape's got boils all over and he can't figure out the counter-curse. He kept pronouncing it wrong. _Finite Incantum!_"

Peter and James both burst into laughter.

"Did Black reverse it?" James asked.

Frank shook his head, "You know he knows the counter-curse too. He probably just likes to see anyone being tortured. The two of them know more curses than fifth years I bet."

The cart came by just then and James and Frank both pulled out money bags to purchase an obscene amount of sweets. Peter and Remus both had packed lunches and started eating quietly. James held out a chocolate frog for Remus, who shook his head and blushed. When the other boy insisted he relented and soon the candy was being shared by all four boys. They talked about what to expect from classes and the unfair policy that kept first years off the quidditch teams. It turned out that James, Peter, and Frank had known each other since birth, as their fathers worked together at the Ministry of Magic. The three of them shared a tutor for their pre-Hogwarts education.

"Oi, first years," a head poked in their door. The boy attached to it had a silver badge with a large 'P' pinned to his robes. "We'll be arriving soon. Get changed into your robes and leave your luggage in the compartment when we get to Hogsmeade. It will be brought to your dorms after your sorting."

"Yes sir, Mr. Prefect sir!" James snapped to attention and comically saluted the older boy, who blushed and moved onto the next compartment.

The boys fished their robes out of their trunks and pulled them over the muggle clothes they wore to the station. The train pulled to a stop and Remus stepped out behind the other three into the throng of students, all chattering loudly to be heard over the others. To Remus's sensitive hearing it was like several someones were shouting directly into each of his ears. Even so, a booming voice could be heard over the hundreds of teenagers. The combination of sounds and smells was nearly overwhelming. It would take some adjusting before he was comfortable around so many people. His father had warned him, but nothing could have prepared him for this.

"Firs' years! Firs' years, this way!" Remus looked up to see a giant of a man, or probably only half-giant based on his command of English and height of only about ten feet.

James bounced towards Hagrid, whom he had met with his dad in Diagon Alley several times. They had even had lunch in the Leaky Cauldron a few times. His dad had been friends with Hagrid when he was at Hogwarts, and had told James that the half-giant shouldn't have been expelled. It was prejudice and panic that had made the decision for Headmaster Dippet. Luckily the man had retired not long after and Professor Dumbledore had taken the position. The senior Potter was good friends with Headmaster Dumbledore, the best man ever to head Hogwarts he told James, but James wasn't supposed to act familiar with the headmaster for some reason.

James jumped into a boat with Peter, Frank, and the quiet boy Remus, nearly tipping the boat over in the process. James suspected Remus would go into Ravenclaw, like the boy said he might, along with Frank though James hoped Frank would join him in Gryffindor. Anyone who actually read _Hogwarts, A History_ multiple times was Ravenclaw material, so he knew his hopes were unrealistic.

"Hey Hagrid!" James called out.

"Hi there James!" Hagrid replied. "Yer Da' okay?"

James nodded at the boat next to them and his eyes widened as they crossed the lake. His constant movement was making the boat shake a bit and Peter was starting to look somewhat ill. There was a tree trashing about on the grounds.

"Is that a Whomping Willow Hagrid?" James yelled in amazement as he stood and pointed, somehow keeping his balance and not tipping the boat.

Chatter broke out amongst the first years and Hagrid nodded, "Sit down James! And yep it is, I 'elped Professor Sprout plant it jus' las' month. 'Ere we are."

The first years clambered out of the boats and followed Hagrid into the entrance hall. Remus lingered behind slightly. He didn't like crowds. A look behind gave him a good view of the tree that had everyone talking. In a way, the Willow was his tree. It had been planted for his arrival at the school. A hand tugged at his sleeve. He looked at the boy next to him and smiled. James Potter seemed to have made Remus his personal responsibility.

"C'mon Remus, it's time for the sorting!" James grabbed his hand and ran to catch up with the others, dragging Remus behind him.

A tall, imposing woman with her brown hair pulled into a tight bun at the nape of her neck stood waiting for the first year students. Remus immediately discerned that she was not someone to cross, and for some reason she had a feline scent...

"My name is Professor McGonagall. I am the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts and the Head of Gryffindor House. After we walk through these doors you will be sorted into your houses and join your housemates, who will be your family for the next seven years at Hogwarts."

Frank tuned out the rest of the speech and looked around at the other first year students. James was bouncing on the balls of his feet, always full of energy. He noticed that McGonagall was keeping an eye on the heir to the Potter fortune. No doubt James's mother had owled a warning to the Head of Gryffindor House, or more likely multiple warnings. The muggle-born students were easy to spot. They were all looking around, awe-struck. One of the castle's ghosts floated through the hall, and several of the muggle-born kids jumped or exclaimed in shock. There were snickers from some of the obvious Slytherin-bound purebloods, all huddled together and trying to look nonchalant and important.

They entered the great hall in a line and Frank smiled. It was just like his Uncle Algie had told him, with the enchanted ceiling and floating candles. Professor Dumbledore, the only hope the wizarding world had against the dark wizard that had risen a few years ago calling himself Lord Voldemort, sat at the head table, his white hair topped with a deep blue hat covered in twinkling stars.

An old hat with a rip near the brim sat on a stool. The whole school was staring at the hat in anticipation. The top of the hat tilted back slightly and the rip opened. The hat began to sing and Frank started to laugh. His uncles had been teasing him about the sorting, telling him about all sorts of tests he had to pass. One of them even said he would have to face a sphinx. All they had to do was try on a hat!

"When I call your name step forward and be sorted. Anderson, Alice."

A petite girl with blond braids and a round, friendly face stepped forward and sat on the sorting stool.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Black, Narcissa."

The hat barely touched on her head before calling out, "SLYTHERIN!"

"Black, Sirius."

The boy with dark hair and bright blue eyes walked up to the stool confidently. He smiled as the sorting hat lowered onto his head.

_What have we here, another Black? Hmm, you are nothing like your cousins, even dear Andromeda. You are cunning, and there is ambition aplenty, but there is bravery and a certain disregard for rules. Smart... but not very fond of books and studying. And there is power there too..._

His inner suspicions confirmed, Sirius paled and pleaded with the hat, "No, not Gryffindor, I'm a Slytherin. All the Blacks are Slytherins."

_No Sirius Black, you would not do well in Slytherin. You will thank me in the dark years to come..._

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The whole hall was silent, a Black, in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw was one thing but _Gryffindor?_ The boy on the stool was frozen in place, as if begging the hat to change its mind but receiving no answer. Professor McGonagall stepped forward and took the hat off the boy's head.

"Go join your house Mr. Black," she said in a soft voice and placed a gentle yet firmly directing hand on his shoulder. "Diggory, Robin."

Sirius Black had no choice but to leave the stool and go to sit at Gryffindor table while the next first year stepped forward.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Sirius was in a daze as he approached the sea of red and gold, the antithesis to the green and silver he was raised with. He sat at the end of the table, several seats removed from the nearest student, his back to the rest of the hall, and shaking ever so slightly. A deep red haired girl with bright green eyes sat down across from him. Sirius had missed her name.

He had three first cousins in Slytherin House, and several cousins various times removed. Hell, in some way he was related to everyone at that table as all the pureblood families were intermarried. They were all probably furious with him. He didn't even want to think about his mother's reaction to this. Though he appeared not to pay attention he was not oblivious to the glares he received from some of the older Gryffindors.

"Longbottom, Frank."

The hat made its decision quickly, "RAVENCLAW!"

"Lupin, Remus."

The hat took its time with the quiet boy.

_Remus Lupin, I have spoken to the headmaster about you. _

Remus was surprised, "What did you talk about?"

_Oh I never reveal what I discuss with others. Let's see... you have quite a hunger for knowledge and a love of books, just like your father did._

"Ravenclaw, I knew it," Remus thought, feeling a slight disappointment he had not expected.

_Not so hasty there boy, not so hasty, there is another side to you altogether. _Remus winced. _Do not be afraid of yourself my dear boy. There are strengths and weaknesses in both sides of you. There is plenty of courage and you face each moon with quite a bit of bravery. I do not think I could put you anywhere other than..._

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Go Remus!" James Potter called out from the crowd of first years, but was silenced by a look from Professor McGonagall.

Remus Lupin smiled shyly and sat down next to a still stunned Sirius Black.

"Nott, Westin."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Pettigrew, Peter."

Again the hat took several minutes. _What have we here Mr. Pettigrew? _Peter swallowed nervously. _I don't believe I have ever had more difficulty in a sorting. Let's see, you have a desire to prove yourself worthy, but Slytherin is not for you. Hufflepuff might suit you, but I think you will be happier with your friends in..._

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Relieved, Peter Pettigrew sat in the seat across from Remus, between the deep red haired girl and Alice Anderson. The two boys smiled at each other, glad to have made it through their sorting unscathed.

"Potter, James."

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat exclaimed in even less time that it took to sort Narcissa Black, quite possibly making it the fastest sorting in Hogwarts history. The headmaster looked rather pleased.

James Potter leapt off the stool almost before he managed to sit and made his way to the table amidst cheers from his new housemates. He literally threw himself onto the seat next to Remus and wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders. Remus almost flinched at the touch but stopped himself in time. He was not used to touch. Ever since the bite his parents had been hesitant in their infrequent hugs, as though his disease could somehow be spread that way. After his mother left there was only his father, and he showed his affection in other ways. Still, his muscles tightened.

"Stebbins, Steven."

"RAVENCLAW!"

James didn't notice the reaction to his friendly gesture and shook his head, "Too bad about Frank. I had high hopes for that boy."

"Oh shut it Jamie-boy," Peter replied with a laugh. "The vast majority of Longbottoms have been in Ravenclaw, and Frank has always been the most studious in our lessons. You told me last week he would be sorted there."

"True, that boy does love his books," James turned and grinned at his friend.

"Westerly, Rebecca."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Zabini, Raine."

"SLYTHERIN!"

Dumbledore stood, said a few words that caused the first years to look at him in confusion and many of the older students to snicker quietly, and clapped his hands. Food appeared on the tables and everyone started eating immediately. The presence of food did not stop James Potter from talking, though he shoveled mouthfuls between sentences and while anyone else was speaking.

"True, true Peter," James grinned and turned to survey the new Gryffindor girls. When he spoke it was with a somewhat aristocratic air. "I'm James Potter, Six Hundred and Eighty-Fifth Generation of Gryffindor Potters dating back to the time of the founders."

Remus raised his eyebrows and saw the same from the girls. He had guessed right about the James's heritage, old pureblood family indeed. The deep red haired girl stood up and reached across the table to shake his hand, "Lily Evans, muggle-born. Wasn't there a Potter Minister of Magic not long ago?"

She had been reading a few books Remus could tell and had probably also been considered for Ravenclaw. James nodded and beamed, "My Great-Granddad."

Next to Remus, Sirius Black snorted. The girl glared at him, "I remember you from the train. Watch your mouth or you'll end up like your friend."

James smiled broadly, bouncing slightly in his seat, "A woman after my own heart."

"Alice Anderson," the blond introduced herself shyly.

Another blond haired girl sitting next to her smiled at James, "Beatrice Collins, call me Bea."

"Yvonne Diggory, my twin brother Robin is in Hufflepuff. Our older brother Amos is a Hufflepuff prefect, sixth year" a girl with mousy brown hair said.

"Right then, we've got Lily, Alice, Bea, and Von," James said, pointing to each girl in turn and automatically assigning a few nicknames. He then pointed out each of the boys, "That's Peter Pettigrew, his mum calls him Petey, and Remus Lupin. Then we've got _Black_ down there, pureblood and proud of it."

Sirius glared at James. His confusion and discomfort was hid behind the bravado he always presented to his family, "That's right _Potter_," he spat, "though I wouldn't expect you to understand, seeing as you come from a long line of muggle-lovers."

"Muggle-lovers? None that I know of," James smirked. "There's not a muggle on my tree that I am aware of... though I wouldn't care if there was."

Remus quickly began to feel as though he was the weapons-free zone between two warring nations, "Um James?"

"Yeah Remus?" James quickly shifted gears and lowered his voice, though just barely.

"Would you mind continuing this when I'm not in the crossfire?" Remus asked nervously. He thought he might have a friend in James and wasn't sure if he was risking it by speaking up like that.

James clapped a hand on Remus's shoulder, "Sure, no problem, Remy."

Remus smiled automatically at the shortening of his name. No one had given him a nickname before. He turned to the boy on his other side and held out his hand, though he wasn't sure it would be accepted, "Remus Lupin."

Sirius Black looked at him warily but eventually shook his hand, "Sirius Black."

Remus heard James mumbling on the other side of him, "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into mate."

Remus just shrugged in response. The same could easily be said of anyone who made friends with him. When the meal ended Dumbledore stood and banished the remaining food. After some announcements, which Remus thought would only encourage James to explore the Forbidden Forest and to buy several of the items not allowed the first chance he got, the feast was officially ended. A fifth year prefect led them up to Gryffindor Tower. Remus could tell that he and James would have to show Peter how to get back to the great hall the next morning. After the eighth turn and the second moving staircase the pudgy boy was looking dazed.

The four boys found their trunks already at the foot of the four-poster beds in the first years' dormitory. James and Sirius were next to each other, with Remus and Peter across from them. Sirius immediately changed into pajamas, climbed into bed, and closed his bed hangings sharply. James and Peter shrugged and followed suit, though they were a bit less violent with their curtains. Remus went into the bathroom and showered before getting into bed, glad that the shower cubicles were private even if the changing area wasn't. He glanced out the window before closing his curtains. Two weeks to the full moon, though he really didn't need to look at the night sky to know. His body was a perfect lunar calendar.

James jumped out of bed the next morning with as much energy as he had the night before. Not normally a morning person, just being at Hogwarts was enough to get him up and moving. He pulled a piece of parchment and a quill out of his trunk and scratched out a quick letter to his parents, telling them all about his first night, his sorting, and his new friends. He crossed the room and tried to wake up Peter, but gave up after five minutes of poking. He had forgotten how hard it was to wake him. That boy slept like the dead. James only gave his next move a few seconds of thought, if that much.

He opened the curtains on the next bed and shook the sleeping boy, "Hey Remy, rise and shine!"

"Hm, wha'?" Remus mumbled as his eyes blinked open to bright sunlight streaming in through the window and casting James into a silhouette.

James smiled. He hadn't noticed the day before that Remus's eyes had a distinct amber tint to them, though they could probably be called hazel, "Wake up. I need to go to the owlery before breakfast!"

Remus blinked up at him, "You want me to go with you?"

James shrugged, "Sure, why not?"

"Just give me a minute," Remus mumbled. He rolled out of bed and gathered some clothes together. He had showered the night before but wanted to freshen up before going downstairs. Remus was also decidedly uncomfortable about changing in front of others. It could generate too many questions that Remus couldn't answer truthfully... and he hated lying.

When he got back James was dressed and had a bag slung over his shoulder. Remus gathered some parchment, quills, and ink, put them in his bag, and was ready to go. The two boys left the still sleeping tower and expertly navigated the corridors to the entrance hall. Remus eventually found that one advantage he had was a keen sense of direction, a sense he had not had a chance to discover before. The staircases would never turn him around as they did many students.

There was a slight chill to the early morning air and the boys ran across the dew covered grounds to the owlery. Remus stayed at the door of the owlery while James went inside.

"Zeus!" James called out with his arm extended. He whistled sharply and called out again for his familiar, "Zeus!"

Several owls shrieked and a shower of feathers fell on the boys as the owls on the lower perches ruffled and flew up to higher perches. One owl, with feathers in disarray very similar to James's hair Remus noted with a quiet chuckle, flew down and perched on the outstretched arm. James carried the owl to a shoulder level perch while making soft cooing noises and petting it. The owl jumped onto the perch and held out its leg. James tied the letter on.

"Take this to Mum and Dad," James said. "Dad's probably at work so try Mum first. If neither of them is home you know where to leave it."

The owl nipped James's ear, hooted, and flew away. Remus watched the owl fly away with a touch of longing. He couldn't have an owl. They tended not to trust him. Many animals shied away from him as though they sensed the predator inside.

"Nice owl," Remus commented.

James grinned, "I got him for my tenth birthday. Hey, did you bring a pet? I didn't see one on the train."

"No," Remus looked across the grounds to the Willow, "I don't have a pet."

"Ah well, there's always next year. I'm hungry, let's go eat," James tugged at Remus's sleeve yet again and they headed back towards the castle. Remus suspected that if this kept up all his robes would have distinct stretches from where James always somehow pulled at the same exact spot.

There weren't many people in the great hall when they walked in, but breakfast was already on the tables. The two sat down at Gryffindor not far from some older students and piled food onto their plates.

"You're a Potter, right?" one of the students asked.

James nodded and swallowed, "James Potter, only Potter of this generation. Uncle Clive isn't married and doesn't have any kids and Aunt Deanna is a squib."

"I'm Tim Spinnet, fourth year Quidditch chaser," they shook hands. "Are you as good as your uncle on a broom?"

James grinned again, "He taught me to fly years ago."

"We'll have an opening on the team next year for a chaser," Tim looked James up and down. "You look about the right build for a chaser. You should come to tryouts. The year after that we'll need to replace a beater, our keeper, and our seeker."

"You couldn't keep me away with twenty bludgers," said James.

"That's what I like to hear," Tim smiled and looked past James to Remus. "You any good, kid? There is no talent in the other years. We have a chance this year, but not a good one."

"Sorry," Remus shook his head, "I don't fly well."

"Oh well," Tim shrugged. "Keep an eye out during flying lessons for me, will you James?"

"No problem," James saluted.

By that time the table was starting to fill up. James and Remus had finished eating, but stayed to talk to Peter and a few of the girls. When he had woken to find that James, Remus, and Sirius were already gone Peter had latched onto the girls to find his way downstairs. There was screech overhead and a great flapping of wings. Remus was the first to look up to see the owls diving into the great hall.

They swooped down to the students, mostly carrying subscriptions to the_ Daily Prophet_ or packages of items forgotten at home. Remus saw James's eyes widen as a pitch black owl with a red envelope headed for the Gryffindor table. It made its way to the end of the table, where Sirius Black was eating alone. The envelope was dropped and the owl circled and flew away without landing. Sirius reached for it with trembling fingers. He opened it and a shrieking voice filled the room.

WHAT WERE YOU THINKING SIRIUS CONSTANTINE BLACK? THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A BLACK IN GRYFFINDOR IN THE HISTORY OF THE PROUD AND NOBLE FAMILY. YOU ARE A DISGRACE, A TRAITOR TO THE PUREST OF WIZARDING BLOOD, AN ABOMINATION OF MY FLESH. YOU ARE ONE STEP AWAY FROM JOINING YOUR FORMER COUSIN AND THAT FILTH SHE MARRIED LAST YEAR. DO NOT EVEN THINK OF COMING HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS. IF HOGWARTS ALLOWED IT WE WOULD CONSIDER LEAVING YOU THERE FOR THE SUMMER AS WELL. YOUR FATHER WILL BE RIDICULED BY ALL HIS ASSOCIATES. DO NOT OWL YOUR BROTHER. I WILL NOT HAVE YOU INFLUENCING HIM. I AM ASHAMED TO ADMIT THAT I BORE YOU SIRIUS BLACK. YOU DISGUST ME.

The envelope burst into flame and there was a moment of silence in the hall before the Slytherin table burst into laughter and the other tables started talking in exaggerated whispers. Remus looked up at the head table and saw Professor McGonagall looking at the frozen in shock boy with pity. Most of the professors were doing the same, though some had returned to their meals. Headmaster Dumbledore, whose eyes usually had a twinkle to them, seemed to be in deep thought. Remus almost didn't notice the letter that dropped in front of him.

_Mr. Lupin,_

_Please come to my office following your lessons today. If you need assistance, one of the prefects can direct you._

_Minerva McGonagall, Head of House Gryffindor, Deputy Headmistress_

"What do you need to see McGonagall for?" James asked, leaning over Remus's shoulder.

Remus shrugged. He knew, but he was not about to share that with someone he had just met, if ever. There was a clatter as silverware dropper to the table. Remus had noticed that luckily the silverware was not actually silver, but was made of platinum. He had no desire to burn his hands at every meal or wear gloves at all times. He looked down the table and saw that Sirius had snapped out of his shock. He sprang to his feet and fled the great hall. Remus, James, and Peter exchanged one look and followed.

Sirius was fast, but no match for Remus Lupin, even when he was holding himself back. They tracked him to the nearest boys' bathroom and followed him inside. The furthest stall slammed shut and Remus could hear gasping breaths and quiet sobs. He knocked cautiously on the door.

"Sirius?" Remus said quietly. There was no answer and he looked back to James and Peter. They both shrugged. "You can come out, Sirius. We won't make fun or anything."

"Go away," a quiet voice answered.

Remus had no idea what to do. This wasn't something he had any experience with, or had read anything about. He was grateful when James gently brushed him aside and pulled out his wand.

"_Alohomora_," the door swung open. "Look Bla, um, Sirius, I'm sorry about last night. The sorting hat has never made a mistake yet and I acted like a jerk. Can we start again? Hi, I'm James Potter."

Sirius looked up with red-rimmed eyes at the hand held out towards him. He slowly reached out to shake, "I'm Sirius Black."

"Wonderful to meet you mate. This here is Peter Pettigrew, and I think you met Remus Lupin already," James grinned again as Peter and Sirius shook hands. The grin was contagious, soon they all were grinning like idiots.

Sirius stood and walked over to the sinks where he splashed some cold water on his face. The red faded from his eyes and he wiped the water away with a towel.

"So, erm, what class do we have first?" Peter asked.

Three pairs of eyes widened in response and Remus felt a knot form in his stomach. His father had stressed how important it was that Remus stay out of trouble and here he was possibly missing his very first class, "We don't have our schedules."

The four boys raced out of the bathroom and back to the great hall, hoping to find a teacher still there. Luckily for them, Professor McGonagall stood at the door with four pieces of parchment in her hand and a small, tight lipped smile.

"You had best run out the greenhouses boys, as Herbology is about to begin," McGonagall told them as she peered down at them.

They each took a schedule, thanked their Head of House profusely, and tore out of the entrance hall, hearing her admonishments not to run in the castle. Once outside they were laughing and joking, and made it to class with only seconds to spare. They slid into seats and glanced at their schedules to see what they had next.

Sirius gulped, fear clearly written on his face, "Double Defense Against the Dark Arts... with Slytherin."

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	3. 2: A New Meaning to House Rivalries

**Chapter Two: Giving a New Meaning to House Rivalries**

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Sirius lagged behind the other Gryffindor boys on the way from the greenhouses to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. He had barely been able to pay attention to the lecture from Professor Sprout and had lost five points for it. Before this morning he would have expected his roommates to get mad at him for the loss of points, but instead the other boys were indignant on his behalf. It was a strange experience for him. Slytherins didn't act that way, at least not in private. The girls were a different case though. Evans had given him a dirty look for losing points so early on.

He watched Remus on their walk to the next class, as he was directly behind him. While most students were jostling and bumping into each other, the quiet, sandy haired boy had a tendency to step to the side and out of the path of anyone approaching him. He didn't even brush against a single person on their walk. It was fascinating, almost as though he could sense all the people around him. Sirius wondered vaguely if he had some obscure talent like magic sensory or strong empathy.

"Will you look at that," a voice that Sirius knew well sneered. "What did my dear aunt call you? Oh yes, it's the blood traitor. I see he's found others just like him, dirty blood all around."

Sirius looked up at his cousin Narcissa with anger in his eyes. His hand in his pocket gripped his wand tightly, "Move Cissy."

"Did you hear something Narcissa?" Severus Snape appeared behind her. Though they had been raised together and encouraged to associate, Sirius had known that Severus would turn on him the instant he was sorted into Gryffindor. He didn't mind. He had never liked the other boy anyway. So far as he knew no one did, but the Slytherins wouldn't show that amongst outsiders. "I think he was speaking in mudblood. It can be so difficult to understand."

"Were you always this greasy Snape," James spoke up next to Sirius, leaping to his defense, "or did you just forget to bathe for the past five years?"

Snape's wand was out in an instant and pointed at James, who responded in kind. Sirius could tell it was instant hatred between the two of them. Before either could get off a hex, the classroom door burst open. A tall imposing wizard stepped out with a thunderous look on his face.

"What is the meaning of this?" Professor Fenwick demanded in a deep baritone that reverberated through the corridor, "Potter! Snape! That's detention tonight with Mr. Pringle for both of you. You are not to draw your wand on another student while in this school. Get inside, all of you, before I take points from both Houses for tardiness."

Sirius and James glared at Snape and Black, who glared right back. The tension in the hall did not dissipate, even when the wands were lowered, and it followed the students into the classroom.

"Perhaps this is a good time to inform you all that fighting of any kind will have serious repercussions. You are here to learn, not to brawl," the professor looked at them sternly. "Any student I catch pointing their wand at another will lose house points and serve detention with Mr. Pringle, our caretaker. I assure you he has more than enough for all of you to do. I will also not tolerate house rivalries in my classroom. Hogwarts encourages healthy competition for the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup. Beyond that you are all expected to treat each other with respect.

"Now, everyone stand up and take out your wand," Fenwick instructed. "Hold it before you as if you are about to cast a spell but say nothing."

The professor walked around the room and corrected each student on how they held their wand. Remus was sitting next to Peter, behind James and Sirius. When Fenwick got to Snape he furrowed his brow and took out his own wand to demonstrate. Sirius leaned to James and whispered something that even Remus couldn't pick up. James covered his mouth to stifle the laughter that almost broke out. Fenwick adjust Remus's grasp slightly, Peter's completely, and gave both Sirius and James five points each for having perfect holds. Across the room, Snape scowled.

"Now, basic wand safety. Where do you keep your wand?" Professor Fenwick began the lesson. A boy had slipped his into his back pocket and the professor crossed the room and snatched it out, "No you fool. Do you want to lose a buttock, or some other important body part? Keep your wand in your pocket and you may never have children!" The boy blushed crimson as the lecture continued.

"Keep that face on his head and he may never have children," James whispered, causing snickers all around them. Professor Fenwick silenced them with a look and the lesson continued.

At lunch Sirius sat with his roommates, truly joining his house for the first time. Remus was amazed to see that James and Sirius were similar in their exuberance and almost seemed to feed energy off each other. He exchanged an amused glance with Lily Evans as the two dark haired boys got more and more exited as the meal progressed. When they started discussing quidditch and gesturing wildly as they described their aerial feats, Remus and Peter both inched away, as did the two students sitting on the other sides of James and Sirius.

In Charms that afternoon they practiced wand movements, swish and flick. Though he was thankful to be learning he wished, as did the others based on their mumbling, that they could progress a little faster. His father had covered this and much more with him long ago. An entire class period spent on swish and flick seemed a bit excessive. When the class ended Remus reminded James of his appointment with McGonagall and told the others he would see them at dinner. He got directions to McGonagall's office from Professor Flitwick and set off.

"Professor?" Remus knocked on the door.

The door opened and McGonagall looked down at him, "Come in Mr. Lupin."

Remus nodded and followed her inside. She sat at her desk and Remus sat facing her.

"The headmaster has informed some of the staff of your... situation. He and I met with your father this summer," she began. Remus kept his eyes down, not wanting to see her expression. Most people who knew had treated him as subhuman. "On nights of the full moon you will report to the hospital wing a full hour before sunset. The hospital matron, Madam Pomfrey, will escort you to the Shack and collect you in the morning. Do you have any questions?"

Remus shook his head, still unwilling to look up. The stern note to her voice almost made him cringe. Was she always like that, or did she dislike him for what he was? If she did, he wouldn't blame her. There were times when he didn't like himself very much either.

"Have you told your roommates of your condition?" Remus looked up at that, with wide eyes, and shook his head fervently. She nodded, "I advise against such a course of action. Do you have something to tell them should they get suspicious?"

Remus nodded and spoke for the first time in that meeting, softly, "I will tell them my mother is ill, and I go to visit her. She lives in France, so they will not meet her."

"Very good," McGonagall said. "If they still have any questions direct them to me and I will corroborate your story."

"Is there anything else Professor?" Remus asked with his head down again.

"No Mr. Lupin, that is all," McGonagall answered.

Remus got up and walked to the door. When his hand was on the door he heard McGonagall get up from behind her desk.

"Mr. Lupin... Remus," Remus turned. McGonagall smiled at him, "If you ever need to talk, my door is open."

Relief flooded Remus. He smiled shyly at his Head of House, "Thank you."

James, Sirius, and Peter were playing Exploding Snap when Remus got back to the common room. As he walked up to them the cards exploded in James's face, singeing his eyebrows, and Sirius rolled back in laughter. James noticed Remus and spun around and leapt to his feet in one smooth motion, glad for the distraction. He was losing pathetically.

"Remy!" James patted Remus on the back. "What did our dear Head of House need to talk to you for?" He adopted a cross expression and waggled his finger. "Did you get in trouble already young man?"

Remus raised his eyebrows, "When would I have done that, in the two minutes I haven't been with _you _since we got off the train?"

"True, true," James pulled on an imaginary beard, stopped mid-pull, and looked up innocently, "did I get in trouble too?"

Remus couldn't stop the laugh that escaped him. James couldn't look innocent to save his life with his eyes dancing with mischief like that, "No, no trouble. She, uh, it's..."

"Aw, come on Remy," Sirius joined in with a laugh, "it can't be worse than that howler I got this morning."

Sirius had bounced back fairly well, Remus noticed. He looked at the expectant faces, "My mother has been ill for a while." Expectant changed to concerned or embarrassed. "My father talked to the headmaster and made arrangements for me to visit her about once a month."

Sirius winced, "Sorry, mate. I wish it was my mum rather than yours."

"Thanks... I guess," Remus gave him a genuine smile.

"Dinner! Food!" James announced with the now predictable tug on Remus's sleeve.

The tension between the first year Gryffindors and Slytherins got progressively worse during their first week of classes. Glares and insults were shot back and forth in the corridors, in the great hall, and before and after any classes they shared. Though they had seemed like friends, or at least acquaintances before the sorting, the majority of the fighting was carried out by Sirius Black and Severus Snape or James Potter and Severus Snape, and the two Black sisters still at Hogwarts were never hesitant to taunt their cousin. James Potter was always quick to come to the defense of his new friend and was soon a target for the girls as well.

"We've got to do something about those Slytherins," James declared late one Friday night in their room, pacing back and forth.

Sirius was sporting a black eye from his encounter with Snape earlier that day and Remus was searching for a healing charm in one of his many extra books. The book on healing was for his own monthly injuries, though he just told his new friends he was interested in the subject. The dark haired boy poked at the bruise and winced, "What do you propose we do? Ow! Ouch!"

"Quit poking if you don't want it to hurt," Remus muttered to the accompaniment of chuckles from James as he flipped pages. He stopped and looked up with a smile, "Here we go. Hold still Siri."

"We'll just have to play a prank on the Slytherins," James bounced on his bed.

Sirius blinked and reached up again to feel the now healed skin, "Thanks Remy."

"No James," Peter said hesitantly, "you know what happened last time you decided we would prank someone."

"What happened?" Sirius questioned with interest.

"We were grounded for a week!" Peter moaned. "And then Rachel made us write an essay on the laws about human transfiguration."

James rolled his eyes, "Well we won't be pranking our tutor, or any of the professors even, just the Slytherins. And Rachel thought it was funny, I swear."

Peter shook his head and his voice was heavy with sarcasm, "Yeah James, she thought having gills was real funny. Sneaking gillyweed into her salad so she had to go jump in the lake made her laugh hilariously."

Remus chewed on his lower lip and looked outside. It was almost full moon and he was starting to get a little more bold than usual, as he always did at that time. He had never had such an opportunity to act on it though. He felt a recklessness rise in him that he'd never felt before and his eyes sparkled, "We'd have to plan it out well. We can't leave any evidence that would trace it back to us."

James bounced off his bed and joined Remus on his, tackling him so they both fell backwards, "Yes! Remy is in!"

A mischievous glint appeared in Sirius's eyes and he crossed the room to Remus's bed as well, "I'm in. Snape won't know what hit him."

"Petey?" James batted his eyelashes at the reluctant boy. Peter seemed to deflate and joined the others with a deep sigh, "Brilliant! Okay, the first thing we need to do is figure out where out the kitchens are..."

The first stage of their plan, which was rewritten several times due to mistakes or risks that Remus pointed out, took place in the common room on a rainy Friday afternoon. Most of the Gryffindors were there doing homework, playing cards or chess, or just talking. Their scripted conversation was close enough to their normal behavior that no one would suspect a thing.

"I'm hungry!" James complained loudly and threw himself onto the couch, which was unfortunately already occupied by Remus and Sirius, with Peter on the floor in front of them.

Remus snorted and pushed James to tumble down onto Peter, who rolled away just in time, "We just ate lunch, and you ate enough for two quidditch teams."

"But I'm hungry!" James whined and stood up to address the room. "Does anyone know where the kitchens are?"

A few people looked up and shook their heads. Remus tugged on James's robes and he fell down on the floor with a loud 'thump'. The four boys were glared at by the fifth year prefects, who already had to deal with James and Sirius multiple times for hexing people in the halls and fighting. They didn't get an answer until dinner that night when the quidditch chaser they met earlier sat down next to James.

"Got any more ideas on players for our next two years?" Tim asked to allay the suspicious glances of the prefects. Remus had heard that Tim was known to sneak around the castle a bit with his friends, and the older Gryffindor apparently saw James as somewhat of a protégé.

"Siri here might make a good beater," James suggested. "He's got a pretty good right hook. Snape can attest."

Tim chuckled along with the four of them and whispered, "The kitchens are behind the picture of the bowl of fruit. Tickle the pear." Then he spoke more audibly, "I did hear about that. He's got the build for a beater. We'll see in tryouts next year. The team is thinking of training up some reserve players, just in case. I have a feeling we're not getting the Cup this year, either one."

Back in the tower that night four boys waited for curfew.

"Just how are we supposed to sneak around the school after curfew with Pringle and the teachers prowling?" Remus asked James cautiously, who was looking very smug.

"With this," James reached into his trunk and pulled out a cloak that shimmered and floated on the air.

Sirius's jaw dropped and his eyes opened wide, "That's an invisibility cloak. They're rare and they cost a fortune."

James grinned, "My dad snuck it into my trunk after my mum checked it for contraband. His dad gave it to him when he started at Hogwarts, and _his_ dad gave it to _him_ when _he_ started. It's a family tradition."

Peter just shook his head, "That's one messed up family. Mr. Potter helps James plan jokes, Mrs. Potter punishes James, and Mr. Potter sneaks in to plan more while James is grounded. The cycle is endless."

Remus and Sirius laughed and James looked offended, "I'll have you know that's another family tradition. How on earth would I learn how to play a good prank without my dad and Uncle Clive?"

"You could try reading maybe?" Remus suggested.

"Nah," James grinned. "I'll leave that you Remy, the Ravenclaw defector of the group."

Peter stuck his head out the door, "The common room's empty. Let's go."

The four of them crowded under the cloak, which was large enough to hide all of them even if walking that closely confined was difficult. As it was the night before the full moon Remus's senses were at the height of their sensitivity and he kept shushing the others, who seemed to forget that the cloak only made you invisible, not silenced. He listened carefully for signs of the caretaker or teachers and smelled for the kitchens. After only a few days the boys had already fallen into a pattern where they followed Remus through the maze of corridors as he never got lost, so it was natural for him to lead the way.

"Remy you're amazing!" James whispered as they came upon the picture of the bowl of fruit.

A disembodied hand reached out and tickled the pear. Remus listened, smelled, and decided they were safe. He pulled off the cloak as Sirius opened the door. Peter squeaked as they became visible but James clamped a hand over his mouth. They entered the kitchens and were instantly greeted by several house elves.

"Greetings sirs! What can we do for sirs?" a high pitched voice asked.

James grinned at the elves and spoke imperiously, "Hello. I am James. This is Sirius, Peter, and Remus, all of Gryffindor House. Dinner tonight was wonderful. We were wondering if you had any more of that treacle tart."

Before anyone else could speak a tray was floating their way with several desserts and goblets of pumpkin juice. The tray was set down on a long table that was in the same position as the Gryffindor table in the great hall. James and Sirius immediately attacked the food, followed at a more dignified pace by Remus and Peter.

As they ate Remus asked a few innocuous questions, "These tables are set up like the great hall. Is our food set up on the tables and sent up from here?"

"Yes Mr. Remus sir," one of the elves answered.

"Just call me Remus please. What is your name?" Remus asked.

The eyes of each elf suddenly grew rounder than Remus thought was possible. The eyes had already resembled tennis balls, "M-my name is Nod M... R-Remus sir."

Remus held out a hand and shook the elf's tiny hand, "I'm pleased to meet you Nod."

The elf looked as if it was about to cry. James had been watching and quickly caught on to Remus's actions. He nudged Peter and Sirius and soon all four boys were introducing themselves to all the elves. Remus had to stop himself from laughing upon hearing that two of them were named Wynken and Blinken. The elves were astonished to be addressed in so friendly a manner by wizards and were practically falling over each other to help the boys.

"Can we come back and visit often?" Remus asked as they were getting ready to leave.

Several small teary eyed heads bobbed up and down excitedly and the four boys smiled and said good-bye to the elves. Various pastries were pressed into their hands to take back to the tower. They disappeared under the cloak and hurried up to Gryffindor Tower, giving the password to a very confused Fat Lady. Once in the safety of their room they burst out laughing.

"You were brilliant Remy!" Sirius declared victoriously. "They'll do anything we ask now!"

Remus grinned and got his nightclothes together, "I'm off to shower."

"Why do you shower at night?" Peter asked.

Remus shrugged, "Habit, I guess."

They decided at breakfast the next morning to make at least one more trip to the kitchens before they put the prank in action. James was voting for Saturday afternoon, so a morning trip wouldn't seem odd after trips only at night. Remus told them to go without him, as his first visit to his mother would be after classes that night and he wasn't sure when he would be back.

After dinner Remus said good-bye to his friends and set off for the hospital wing with his bag, which carried a change of clothes.

"Madam Pomfrey?" Remus asked nervously as he walked in, glad to see that no students were there.

A kind looking woman came out of the hospital wing office, "You're Remus Lupin?" Remus nodded. "Very well," she tapped his head with her wand and he shivered at what felt like ice water trickling down his spine. "That was the Disillusionment Charm," she explained as she repeated the process for herself. "This way no one will see us. I will remove the charm in the shack, and then reapply it when I fetch you in the morning. Let's go."

Remus looked down and saw that he could still make out the outline of his body but it blended into the surroundings. She gently held onto Remus's arm and led him out of the castle and across the grounds. They approached the Whomping Willow and a stick floated up and then prodded a knot at the base of the trunk. The tree froze and an opening was revealed. Madam Pomfrey led Remus into the passageway and then into a small building. A back upstairs bedroom was built more sturdily than the rest of the building and Remus could feel the magical reinforcement all around him. The wand tapped his head and Remus felt warmth travel up his spine as he came into view again. He was starting to feel the pull of the moon and his muscles were cramping.

Madam Pomfrey took his bag and started to leave the room. He could just barely make out the outline of her body, though his nose and ears told him exactly where she was anyway, "This will just be in the next room so you don't damage it. I'll lock the door after me and see you in the morning."

"Thank you," Remus said softly.

He sat down and gripped the arms of a chair as he heard the door lock. Claustrophobia set in as he wanted to be in the forest, not one small room that night. The headmaster had thoughtfully built the shack so it was right up against the forest. The smells and sounds were almost more of a tease than a comfort, though. He had never had a full moon where he could run freely, as the wolf so desperately wanted. Remus tried unsuccessfully to calm himself and began undressing. He had learned long ago that any clothes he wore on the full moon would be ripped to shreds if he wore them at night. He folded them, stood on the plush chair, and put them out of reach on top of an armoire. His robes would be dirty, but safe.

When he saw it was starting to get dark he positioned himself on the floor and felt his skin start to pull. It would have been easier to just submit to the change but he fought it every time. His muscles twisted and spasmed and his joints began to snap and realign themselves. His bones were broken and reformed and he began to scream at the pain. Slowly he was aware of the screams turning into howls and his mind lost its human understanding.

Remus woke to the sound of the door unlocking, but couldn't raise himself off the floor. He blinked his eyes and saw that the once neatly ordered room was in disarray. The upholstery of the comfortable chair had been ripped. There were claw marks on the wood of the armoire. The posts of the bed had been gnawed. A small table had been toppled and broken.

His muscles were on fire and every bit of him was sore. He could taste and smell his own blood and feel where he had cut himself with teeth and claw. Footsteps sounded and echoed in his head. He shut his eyes against the pain. A slight sniffling was heard.

"You poor dear," a motherly voice said. "I never suspected it might be like this."

Remus felt himself lifted with magic. Somehow light cotton pajamas appeared on his body. A vial was held to his mouth and Remus swallowed. Some of the pain faded and he carefully stood and leaned on the nurse, wincing at each movement. Madam Pomfrey apologized before rapping him on the head again with her wand and they started the walk back to the hospital wing.

Only half aware, Remus fell onto a soft bed. He next opened his eyes to find himself in a private room in the hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey sitting in a chair next to his bed. She wiped his forehead with a cool cloth and asked him questions about how much he hurt and where. She clucked and left to fetch a few vials that she poured down his throat. Remus drifted back to sleep and vaguely wondered why his father couldn't do this for him.

"Mr. Lupin," Remus looked up to see Professor McGonagall at the door to his room in the hospital wing. "I just wanted to check on how you are doing."

Remus smiled, "I'm fine. It was better than at home, with the potions and all, though I don't think I like the small room."

McGonagall raised her eyebrows, "You don't think you like it?"

"I don't really remember Professor," Remus looked down, ashamed. "I never do... but the room showed enough evidence itself."

"Poppy, Madam Pomfrey that is, has said you are free to go," Remus looked up again and saw a small smile on her lips. "I am sure your friends are anxiously awaiting your return."

Remus nodded and his Head of House left so he could get dressed. They walked back to Gryffindor Tower together and she asked him questions about his classes. From there they somehow got around to discussing the next step the transfiguration class would take and Remus asked several questions about the theory behind the work they were doing. As he had never expected Remus to be accepted to Hogwarts, Simeon Lupin had taught him quite a bit already. Half of what he was leaning in class was just review and his Head of House was delighted at his interest. Professor McGonagall escorted him into the common room and greeted the students of her House before heading back to her office.

James was instantly by Remus's side and clapped him on the back. Remus flinched slightly.

"Sorry mate," James grinned. "I didn't mean to hit hard. I must not know my own strength." James flexed his arms.

"Don't worry about it," Remus said with a small smile, knowing that James was actually concerned behind the grin. "I just didn't sleep right, must have pulled a muscle or something."

Sirius and Peter looked up from their chess game and greeted him. Peter asked if he wanted to play winner.

"Sorry," Remus said. "I'm behind on my homework now. We have an essay due for potions tomorrow."

The two boys at the chess board gave equally panicked looks and leapt to their feet, upsetting the board to the amusement of the girls sitting nearby. Remus followed them up to their room and sat down to help Peter with the essay.

"We only just started classes and I still don't understand," Peter moaned and stared at his mostly blank parchment.

"That's because you suck at potions, Petey, always have, always will" James declared as he came in the room and joined them. "You see, I finished my essay while you and Siri spent all night last night playing Gobstones."

"Don't call me that Jamiekins," Peter mumbled. Sirius looked up from his potions book and stuck his tongue out at James.

James cowered theatrically, "No, no anything but that. Quick, get a professor. Peter's channeling my mum!"

Remus threw a pillow at James, "If you're already done give Peter a hand so I can get my own work done."

"Anything for you Remy," James threw the pillow back and Remus snatched it out of the air.

James's eyes widened, "Nice reflexes. You'd probably make a good seeker."

Remus shook his head quickly, "Flying and I don't mix. I'd rather keep my feet firmly on the ground, thank you."

Remus proved his reluctance to fly at their first flying lessons. He was the last one there to get his broom in hand, as though it sensed his reluctance. James and Sirius both had their brooms snap into their hands on their first try and spent the next five minutes attempting to encourage Remus, but ended up embarrassing him more than they helped. Even the muggle-born students did better than Remus. As he was shaping up to be at the top of their class with Lily Evans though, he figured there had to be something he didn't do well with.

James got a letter back from his parents the next morning, along with a package of sweets. They were sharing the box of chocolate frogs in their room that night when James announced that it was time for stage three of their plan, execution. They had all been careful since they formulated the plan to avoid confrontations. Whenever the Slytherins threw insults their way, the Gryffindor boys just joked about them.

As always, James was the first awake. A concerted effort on the part of Remus, Sirius, and James got Peter awake ten minutes later. It was still twenty minutes before breakfast when they snuck into the kitchens. They had been dropping by every couple of days, stage two of the plan, and knew nearly all the elves now.

The elves probably noticed when James snuck over to the Slytherin table and poured a potion into the flasks of pumpkin juice, but they didn't try to stop him. The boys had made sure to discuss their troubles with the Slytherins in the kitchens so the elves could hear. Armed with éclairs, the four of them headed to the owlery to send off a letter to James's uncle promising details on the success of their first official Hogwarts prank.

The chatter was as lively as ever in the great hall and the Slytherins didn't detect anything wrong with their drinks. Remus had located the potion they used in a book that James's father had given him and they had brewed it together, also with ingredients from Mr. Potter. The book and ingredients had been snuck into the trunk along with the cloak, James had proudly told his friends. The first Slytherin affected was a fourth year. Her skin became shimmery gold and her hair bright red. The great hall erupted in laughter as one by one every student at the table started to show the Gryffindor colors. The potion had a delayed reaction so it was too late for any Slytherin to avoid their fate.

Remus looked up at the head table and saw that McGonagall was looking sternly at the Gryffindor table, rightly assuming the culprits were from her House. The Slytherin Head of House, Astronomy Professor Spectre was fuming. Dumbledore was the only one to meet Remus's eyes and gave him an almost undetectable nod and slight frown, but his eyes were twinkling with laughter. Remus did his best to look confused but felt like the headmaster saw right through him.

Throughout the day the Slytherins received catcalls and jeers in the corridors from every other House. The coloring faded gradually until it was completely gone by the time dinner was served.

"I declare our first prank a complete success!" James said triumphantly in their room that night.

"Did you see my cousins, and Snape?" Sirius was laughing so hard tears were forming in his eyes.

Remus couldn't hold back his smile, "We did do a pretty good job of it."

Peter nodded fervently but said nothing as he fished out some homework.

"What should we do next?" James asked with a gleam in his eye.

Peter's head snapped up, "I don't know James..."

"Aw, come on," Sirius goaded him. "We didn't get in trouble today. I doubt we'll get caught."

"Dumbledore knew it was us," Remus said as he looked at the waning moon, leaning on the windowsill.

James coughed and almost choked on his Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, "He knew? How do you know? Why didn't we get in trouble?"

All three of his roommates were looking at Remus expectantly, "I was watching the professors' reactions. The headmaster caught my eye and frowned and nodded, but his eyes were laughing."

"I knew it!" James shouted and jumped out of his bed.

"Uh, James," Sirius pointed out, "you were the one who asked."

"Not that," James waved his hand in the air, scattering the jelly beans. "My dad knows Dumbledore. I've heard them talking before on the Floo and I'm _positive_ that he used to play pranks himself."

"The headmaster?" Peter asked incredulously.

"He wasn't _always _the headmaster," James reminded them. "He was the transfiguration professor and Head of Gryffindor when my dad was in school and he taught my grandparents too. I think he was a student around the turn of the century. If he survived all that he's got to have a sense of humor."

"My family thinks he's completely nutters," Sirius said with disdain. "Of course, they also think that You-Know-Who has the right idea about the future of the wizarding world, so that's a shining recommendation in my opinion."

The atmosphere in the room instantly sank.

James swallowed and asked what none of them had been able to ask before, "Do they... are they...?"

Sirius shook his head and a few locks of black hair fell into his eyes, "I'm pretty sure they aren't. Mother openly agrees with what he says, but she'd never lower herself to serve someone else. Father wouldn't do anything without her approval. She'd probably approve if my brother or I joined, though. There's dark arts stuff all over our house. Some of it is really creepy."

Remus picked up a bit of shame and fear in Sirius's words. He wasn't the only one of them who knew about the dark. He noticed Peter was almost shaking and James was fidgeting like normal, but more nervously instead of excitedly. Remus left his spot at the window and sat down next to Sirius on the floor.

"You're not your parents, Siri," Remus said softly. "Just because they practice the dark arts and support You-Know-Who, it doesn't mean that you do or will."

Sirius looked up at Remus with hope in his eyes and James felt a tug at his heart at the almost desperate expression on his new friend's face, "Remus is right. Plenty of wizards from good families have gone bad. There's no reason you can't be the white sheep of the Black family."

"My cousin Andromeda was burned off the family tree," the three others winced. That was a drastic move in wizarding society. Though Remus's mother's family no longer acknowledged him they hadn't gone that far. Technically he was still a member of the family. "She married a muggle-born last year and I think they're having a kid soon. I don't think I'd mind so much now if Mother burned my name off, but it might hurt my little brother."

James smiled tentatively, "Well, we'll just have to find a muggle-born witch for you to marry. He'll be older then. Or you could do Andromeda one better and marry a muggle!"

"Anyone in mind James?" Remus grinned. "I think Lily is muggle-born."

"So is Bea," Peter piped up, "and Alice is a half-blood. Her mum's a pureblood, dad's half-muggle-born."

"Please, I'm only eleven!" Sirius objected, blushing. "Plan my wedding when I'm twenty... or thirty."

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	4. 3: Sticking Together

**Chapter Three: Sticking Together**

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The weeks passed each pretty much like the one before. Remus and Lily became Peter's semi-official tutors. The four boys continued to play pranks, though they mostly singled out a few victims rather than targeting an entire House. They had a variety of unsuspecting victims from all the Houses, to make the blame less obvious, even including each other on occasion.

A reputation was quickly established in Gryffindor Tower and even the older students were wary of the four first year boys when they were plotting in a corner of the common room. The first year girls talked to Remus and Peter often, but shied away from James and Sirius and their exuberance. James and Sirius had already made one visit up to the headmaster's office to be admonished for fighting.

They continued to cultivate their friendship with the house elves, all together and in pairs. They had decided that the small, virtually invisible workers could be valuable allies. Halloween that year was the night after a full moon. After much begging, Madam Pomfrey allowed Remus to cut his 'visit home' short and attend the feast. In truth, he wasn't accustomed to so much coddling after his transformations but with how active he was at Hogwarts he had less energy while recovering. He was almost stumbling despite the Energizing Elixir when he dragged himself into the great hall for the Halloween Feast.

"Remy!" James jumped up out of his seat. He helped Remus into a seat between Sirius and Yvonne, much to Yvonne's apparent relief.

Lily was across from him, "Are you okay? Where have you been?"

"It's just a little cold I think," Remus replied, trying to blink away the tired feeling in his eyes. Luckily the lighting was dim. The noise level was bit much, though. "I was at home with my mum. She hasn't been well for a while. I don't get much sleep when I'm there."

Yvonne rubbed his back, luckily the only part of him that didn't get covered in scratches and bites, and Remus leaned into the soothing motion on his abused muscles without thinking, "We won't ask anything more, right?"

All the first years echoed her sentiments and helped to fill up Remus's plate. He wasn't as hungry as usual thanks to the fatigue from the transformations and Madam Pomfrey's potions, but his lack of appetite could be attributed to his alleged cold. He smiled and thanked his friends and listened to them talk while he ate. A few third years were sitting on the other side of the girls and were telling them all about Hogsmeade. Their first trip into the village had been that morning.

At the end of the feast his year-mates all insisted that he go to Madam Pomfrey and escorted him there en masse, though the girls normally had little to do with James and Sirius.

"Madam Pomfrey!" James called out in a loud sing-song. Remus cringed at the volume of his voice. It echoed in his head painfully.

"Don't tell me you got in another fight Mr. Potter," Madam Pomfrey said, already lecturing, as she came out from her office.

Sirius feigned shock and hurt and clutched his chest dramatically, "Us, fight? Madam, how could you?"

The nurse arched her eyebrows and refused to answer the questions. She had already treated every one of the first year Gryffindor boys three weeks into classes, a school record, "Well, what brings you all here?"

"Remus is sick," Alice said quietly, normally the shy one of the group of girls, and urged him forward.

Madam Pomfrey clucked and held her wrist to his forehead, "The rest of you can go. Mr. Lupin will be here overnight. I expect you can fetch him tomorrow after breakfast."

They filed out and said good-night to Remus, who didn't have much energy to respond with. He turned towards his room when they were gone, "Thanks for letting me go to the feast."

"You're welcome Remus," Madam Pomfrey smiled. "Take a bed out here for the night or your friends might suspect something tomorrow."

Remus blushed and nodded. He changed into pajamas while Pomfrey bustled around, no longer at all embarrassed to change in her presence after what she saw every month, and climbed into the closest bed.

"Those are good friends you have," she commented as he drifted away.

Remus was jolted out of sleep by the ever present energy of James and Sirius. They were arguing about quidditch teams as they entered the hospital wing and Peter was trailing quietly behind. James stopped suddenly and pressed his hand to his heart.

"Peter was awake before Remus," he gasped. "Our Remy must be mortally wounded. Madam Pomfrey! How much longer does he have?"

"He would have much longer if you didn't disturb his sleep," Pomfrey scolded as she walked in. "I said he could go _after_ breakfast."

"But we already -" Peter's remaining words were muffled by the four hands pressed to his mouth.

She looked at the three boys with clearly faked expressions of innocence on their faces and then at the snickering Remus and sighed, "Well you can wait here until Mr. Lupin has eaten."

She clapped her hands and a house elf appeared, "Yes Mistress Pomfrey?" The house elf spotted the boys and jumped with evident excitement, "Masters Remus, James, Sirius, and Peter, how can Quirke help you?"

All four boys picked a random spot on the ceiling to stare at and Sirius and James whistled two dissonant tunes.

Madam Pomfrey ordered the house elf to bring Remus some breakfast, "Well now I know how you three have already eaten." She shook her head, "Only two months into the term and you've already found the kitchens. Most students make it at least four years first. Merlin help us. Mr. Lupin may leave once he eats." She shook her head and they heard her mumbling as she left them alone.

More than enough food for all four of them appeared on a tray in front of Remus and Sirius, James, and Peter helped themselves to a second breakfast while Remus ate his first.

"How's your mum?" James asked while he devoured a muffin.

"Ugh, James, how many times has your mum told you not to talk with your mouth full?" Peter cringed and looked away.

"Mum's not here Petey," James retorted, stuck his tongue out to display his chewed muffin, swallowed, and looked back to Remus.

Remus shrugged, "About the same."

That seemed to satisfy the others and they began discussing the winter holiday. Sirius fell oddly quiet during the conversation that was mostly between James and Peter, and Remus remembered the howler. Remus had decided to stay at Hogwarts over the holiday, as there was a full moon and he didn't want to transform without Madam Pomfrey's potions. It was amazing how quickly he had come to feel dependant on them. He had sent his father a quick note through Professor McGonagall and received a very brief reply. Remus knew he wouldn't mind as they never celebrated the holidays very much.

"...so I owled my mum and asked if you could all come to the Manor for the holiday. She said it would be okay but I think all your parents would have to tell Dumbledore you can go with me," James finished saying. He looked around, "What do you think?"

Remus was startled by the invitation. He had never even thought of the possibility. He blinked and tried to think of an excuse but was saved by Sirius.

"Mother would never let me," he said quietly. The usually sparkling blue eyes were dull with disappointment, "I have to stay here."

Remus decided to take a similar route, "I was planning on staying too, for most of the holiday anyway. I don't think my dad would give me permission. He's a bit... overprotective."

Peter just shrugged, "I've always been back and forth between home and the Manor anyway."

James looked around at all of them before coming to a decision, "Well, I'll just have to put my name down for staying here. I can't let you two have Christmas without me! What do you say Petey?"

"Stop calling me that!" Peter complained. "I'll stay. I just have to write mum and dad and let them know."

"That's settled then," James said firmly. "The Marauders are staying at Hogwarts for Christmas."

"The Marauders?" Remus and Sirius asked skeptically at the same time.

James nodded, "I decided we needed a name. That way we can take credit for our pranks and stuff."

Remus and Sirius looked at each other and shrugged and then looked at Peter. Peter tended to go along with whatever the majority was so he just nodded.

"Marauders it is then," Remus said, and he couldn't help the smile that formed in answer to James's grin.

_15 November_

_Dear Mum and Dad,_

_I've told you all about my friends here. Well, I forgot when I asked you if they could stay for the holiday about the howler Sirius's mum sent him. He's a Black, remember? He's the first ever Black in Gryffindor and his mum wasn't too happy about it so he wouldn't be able to get permission to visit, especially with us. _

_Anyway, I decided to stay at Hogwarts for the holiday since Siri and Remy were staying anyway and Peter will probably stay too. So you can send all my presents here. And yes Dad, I know you did get me presents. I won't fall for that one again. Imagine me sticking my tongue out at you._

_Is it weird for a student to visit home a lot? Remus goes home sometimes because his mum is sick. Last time he was pretty sick himself when he came back but he got better by the next day. It's just weird that he never talks about home. I understand why Siri doesn't much but even he brings up his family every now and then, though Mum wouldn't really want to hear what he says. Remember that time you 'Scourgify'd my mouth Mum?_

_I'm doing well in classes, and so are Siri and Remy. Peter is doing okay so long as Remy and Lily, a muggle-born girl in our class, help him out. With Frank in Ravenclaw we don't see him much. Those two are a sure bet for prefect in four years. No Mum, I don't want to be a prefect. I probably get too many detentions anyway. Whoops, did I write that?_

_Close your eyes Mum. It worked great Dad. You'll have to ask the headmaster about it the next time you see him. Remy is convinced that Professor Dumbledore knows all about our pranks but we have a theory that he was a prankster in his day and is just entertained by us so long as we don't go too far. _

_The rest of the professors are still stumped, but I think Professor McGonagall is catching on. She was giving us some pretty hard looks at lunch yesterday. Just one thing – why did the ears last an hour longer than everything else? Even Remy couldn't figure that out._

_Gryffindor lost to Slytherin in our quidditch match last weekend. It was soooo embarrassing. The Slytherins were all smug and even more superior than usual all week, but that's why we pranked them. Luckily for us Ravenclaw is really good this year. I think they'll take both the Cups this year. Next year we'll need a chaser and backups for the other positions and one of the chasers, Tim Spinnet, wants me and Siri to try out. We tried to convince Remy but he hates flying and you know Peter and brooms._

_Well, exams are looming and Remy and Lily are getting irritable. If I don't at least look like I'm studying soon I'm sure to get a lecture. They're almost as good as you Mum, especially when they team up on us. You're sure to like Remy when you meet him Mum. He's the studious, quiet, well-behaved one – in comparison at least._

_Could you send a couple catalogues and owl order forms so we can all buy Christmas presents?_

_Love,_

_James_

James managed to shock Remus once again when he got a large package from his parents. He pulled out several magazines and started leafing through them.

"So, what do you guys want for Christmas?" James asked casually.

After their conversation in the hospital wing Remus hadn't given Christmas a second thought. He almost broke out in a nervous sweat at the thought of exchanging gifts with his friends. He didn't have much money, and couldn't write home for any. He had to send his letters through Professor McGonagall who mailed them the muggle way and there wasn't enough time. The only owl he and his father received in seven years was from Hogwarts. His dad's family was all muggle and he had an owl drop for work in the Diagon Alley Post Office.

Sirius grabbed one of the catalogues, "There's always the standard fallback, chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate."

"I think James has enough energy," Peter commented as he joined in the catalogue shopping. "Last time he got his hands on too much chocolate the Slytherins all ended up with red horns and forked tails... fitting though."

James grinned, "In that case I should have chocolate more often, as much as I can get! Caffeine and sugar are a perfect combination. I don't know why they don't serve coffee here."

The other three looked mildly disturbed at the idea of James and coffee and a few people sitting near them gave him frightened looks.

"You guys don't have to get me anything," Remus said quietly.

"Nonsense dear Remy," James insisted. "You're getting presents whether you like it or not."

"James is loaded," Peter whispered. "He's the only heir to the whole Potter family. He has more money than he knows what to do with so he spends it on everyone else."

Remus just nodded and went back to his breakfast, an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach.

"Frank! Oi, Frankie!" James stood up and called across to the Ravenclaw table loudly enough for the whole hall to hear him.

"Mr. Potter!" Professor McGonagall scolded from the staff table. "This is not a tavern. Either get up and visit Mr. Longbottom or wait until after breakfast."

James smiled brightly at their Head of House and ignored the snickering from the Slytherin table. He beckoned Frank over to their table and the boy came with an amused smile on his face.

"Are you going home for Christmas Frank?" James asked. "We're all staying here."

"Your mum's letting you stay?" Frank looked surprised. Remus moved down and Frank sat down between Remus and James. "I didn't even bother asking. Mum is very traditional, especially with holidays. The whole family will be at the Manor."

James smiled sheepishly, "I kind of didn't ask. I wrote home and told them I'm staying."

Frank laughed and Peter joined in, "How did she react to that?"

James shrugged and held up the still sealed letter that came with catalogues, "I haven't read it yet, but they sent catalogues like I asked. Dad probably talked her into it."

Frank stayed for the rest of breakfast and talked to the girls and Remus about classes. Sirius, James, and Peter were too enthralled with the catalogues from Quality Quidditch Supplies and Zonko's to think about class work. Alice and Yvonne were flipping through a catalogue that focused mostly on jewelry and Remus had a flash of inspiration.

"Hey James, didn't you promise Hagrid ages ago that you would visit him?" Remus asked pointedly.

James opened his mouth in realization, displaying his half-chewed toast, "I completely forgot. We can go today after Herbology. Hagrid will give us lunch."

"Remus!" Lily scolded. "It's hard enough to get them to study as it is. Don't encourage them."

Remus shrugged, "They'll find something to distract themselves anyway and James did promise. Anyway, those two don't even have enough time to breathe between mouthfuls at lunch. They'd never study during that break."

She just shook her head and muttered, "Boys."

The trip down to see Hagrid left James and Sirius very hungry. After one bite of one of the half-giant's rock cakes Remus made a mental note to never accept any food from Hagrid ever again. Hagrid enthusiastically showed the boys the paddock where he was keeping some crups for Professor Kettleburn's Care of Magical Creatures class and purposefully stayed between Remus and the small animals. Dumbledore must have told him at some point. While they were there Remus discreetly collected several medium sized rocks and tucked them into his bag.

After Transfiguration that afternoon and the review of matchsticks to needles for the end of term exam Remus stayed behind, saying he had to ask McGonagall something about the holiday and his trips home. When the classroom was empty he approached his professor.

"Um, Professor McGonagall?" he asked nervously.

"Yes Mr. Lupin? What can I do for you?" McGonagall motioned for him to pull up a chair opposite her desk.

"Well, we're all staying here for Christmas," he began.

McGonagall gave him a small smile, "I did notice that. It's unusual for everyone in one dorm to stay."

"Well, Sirius doesn't really have a choice, and I'm better off here with Madam Pomfrey. James decided he couldn't leave us alone and Peter just kind of followed along," Remus smiled.

"Mr. Potter is very loyal," McGonagall observed with a smile.

Remus nodded, "They were all talking about gifts this morning, and I can't really afford much, so I was wondering if you could help me." She raised her eyebrows and he fished out a couple of the rocks from his bag. "I was hoping I could transfigure these into Gryffindor lions or something."

The small smile grew, "That is a very creative idea Mr. Lupin. Stone is rather difficult to transfigure, but as you would only be changing only the shape and not the material..." She summoned a book from her office and opened it to the section she wanted. "I can teach you how to change the shape of the stones to a lion if you wish. Let me see the stones you have."

Remus took the rocks he had gathered out of his bag and placed them on her desk. The professor examined each one and separated them into two piles while muttering softly to herself. "Professor? If I can do this as a first year why do people buy little statues and such?"

McGonagall laughed quietly, "Most of the statuettes you see in shops are made from precious stones, which are much more difficult to work with and won't be found on a walk around the lake. They also are usually animated and have several charms on them, polishing, unbreakable, dust resistance, and some even make sounds. Then they can be charmed to carry protection spells for the owner or to carry a specific short memory which is shared when they are held. Many wizards are also too busy or lazy to research the exact spell they would need for the transfiguration." She paused before adding, "You are also a bit more advanced than our average first year students thanks to your father."

Remus smiled. He could see how James or Sirius, and especially Peter, would much rather buy something that go to all the trouble of learning how to make it, "Thanks. Father didn't expect me to get accepted into school."

An hour and twelve inches of parchment later Remus had managed to transfigure one of the stones into a rough lion. It looked a bit primitive, but he liked it. He also had notes on which types of stones would work best, no igneous rocks – too stubborn a material – and sedimentary were best, and what charms to look up if he wanted basic animation or polishing. McGonagall also told him that Professor Flitwick would be thrilled if he asked for help should he decide to charm the lions at all, as he was always eager to help students with extra work. Remus decided to wait until they were all transfigured before even thinking about charms. He would have to go on a walk around the lake to find some more appropriate stones.

Remus was walking back to Tower, going over all the information he had just learned, and was caught alone by surprise.

"A little Gryffie, all alone," said a harsh voice in a teasing sing-song voice.

Instinctually, Remus spun and faced the intruder. He swallowed deeply when he saw there were five Slytherins there, three first years and two fourth years. He recognized Snape, the Black sisters, and the other first year, Westin Nott. Narcissa Black clearly got the looks in the family. He had seen the fourth year blond boy but didn't know his name. His eyes darted around, examining escape routes if he had to run for it. There were no side corridors so if he ran he would be an easy target if any of them had good aim. He could take them on physically if he had to but it wouldn't be the best idea.

Snape sneered at him, "Lupin, I don't believe you've met Lucius Malfoy."

Remus remembered Sirius and James talking about the Malfoy family. They were just as dark as the Black family, and were considered to be firm supporters of You-Know-Who, not just agreeing with his beliefs but working with him.

"Nice to meet you," Remus nodded and kept a calm exterior, just as his father had taught him, but didn't offer his hand to shake.

All five Slytherins laughed, "My, my, my, a Gryffindor with manners. I didn't think such a creature existed."

"Now there Cissy," Belletrix Black said to her younger sister, "exceptions exist to every rule. You spend a great deal of time with Potter and my misguided cousin Lupin. Have you thought about where your loyalties lie?"

Remus narrowed his eyes, "Don't you think I'm a bit young to be considering such things? We don't even learn disarming until second year."

The younger Black stepped forward and ran a finger down his cheek. Remus was shocked. Who taught an eleven-year-old girl to act like that? "But you see Remus, my poor aunt wishes to keep an eye on her confused son. Who better than one of his roommates to be her eyes and ears? She can pay well for information."

"I am not for sale," Remus said firmly, glaring at them and wondering why that time, of all times, there were no teachers, other students, or even ghosts around. Where was Pringle and his blasted ferret when you needed them?

Snape and Nott drew their wands and pointed them at Remus. Remus's hand whipped out of his pocket and he pointed his wand at the group of Slytherins in general. Whenever he got angry he could feel the wolf inside him, begging to be loosed. His mum and dad had taught him early on to control his emotions. Even when it wasn't the full moon he was stronger and faster than he should be and he could hurt someone badly without intending to.

That power would translate over to his magical power he knew, at least until the transformations started to take their toll on his body. It was one reason the Ministry was so afraid of werewolves and why You-Know-Who recruited as many of them as he could. When he started getting his power spurts things would get interesting. This group didn't even know what he was. The wolf was struggling to get out and attack this threat, but Remus wouldn't... couldn't let him.

Narcissa backed up and stood next to Malfoy, whose eyebrows were raised in quiet contemplation as he put a possessive hand on the young girl's shoulder. Bellatrix reached out and lowered the two wands, "Now is not the time for hexes and curses boys. Lupin may learn on his own still."

"Everyone has their price," Malfoy spoke for the first time, "or their weakness. There is power out there, for those who choose to take it."

"Think about it little boy," Belletrix said coldly. "We'll be in touch."

Remus stood still as they turned and walked away. Not until he could no longer hear them or smell them did he turn and flee for Gryffindor Tower. Though Remus was mostly left to his own designs at home his father had sat him down and explained the current war in the wizarding world before he agreed to send him to Hogwarts, especially as it had only just started. He had told Remus some things that weren't printed in the _Daily Prophet_. Since he was considered a dark creature, he would be heavily recruited by You-Know-Who's Death Eaters if his secret ever got out. He had never expected it to start in his first year.

The portrait of the Fat Lady that guarded the Gryffindor common room opened with the password, 'Igor the Unclean', and Remus went straight up to his bed, ignoring everyone in the common room. He dropped his bag on the floor, closed the curtains, and wrapped his arms around his legs. It had been a mistake coming to Hogwarts. His father was right. He was a danger to himself and others and shouldn't be around that many other people. In truth, his own reaction, his near failure to contain himself, had scared him more than the Slytherins had. He had never felt the wolf that strongly before except on the full moon.

"Remy? Remus?" James's soft voice that he used when he was concerned and not bouncing off the walls with pent up energy called through his curtains.

Remus didn't answer. He could hear his friends whispering on the other side of his curtains and knew that only someone like him would be able to hear it. As had happened so many times before, Remus felt disgusted with himself. He was a beast, an animal masquerading as a human.

He tried to focus on his heartbeat, to calm his anger and fear which were feeding off each other and growing. He thought of serene images, of small forest streams or the Yorkshire moors. He could almost smell the rain on the heather. After what felt like an eternity of debate on the other side of the curtains, a head poked into his sanctuary.

"Are you okay?" Sirius asked. Remus shrugged. "Is it your mum?" Remus shook his head no. "Can we come in?" Remus paused and nodded. Sirius at least needed to know what his family was up to.

The three boys piled onto the bed and James lit his wand, followed by Sirius and Peter. They propped the wands in various places to provide light in the small space.

When Remus didn't offer up a reason for his behavior James started the questioning again, "Was it something McGonagall said?"

Remus shook his head and took a deep breath, "I – I met Malfoy. He was with Snape, and Nott, and your cousins."

"Did they hurt you?" James almost growled. He picked up his wand and held it close to Remus's face, looking for signs of injury. He reached forward as if to move Remus's head so he could examine it better and Remus flinched back.

"No," Remus answered. "They didn't touch me, or curse me or anything like that."

"Then what did they do?" Peter asked, confused.

Sirius's face was already showing anger. Remus had a feeling that Sirius already knew more or less what had happened. After all, this was his family. Sirius's question came out as much like a growl than James's, "What did they say to you?"

"They – they wanted me to spy on you Siri," Remus said quietly and related the entire conversation to them.

Remus could see Sirius's anger growing with each word. James was not far behind. Remus noticed for the first time how similar in appearance they were. The hair was the same color, though Sirius's hung neat and straight to his shoulders and James's was short and perpetually messy. They were of the same basic height and build and had a similar skin tone. Their facial structure was different and James had dark hazel eyes where Sirius had blue. Even more similar was their personalities. If James's face was just a bit rounder and Sirius's cheekbones lower they could pass for twins.

"None of us can go anywhere alone," Sirius said. "They'll look for it and prey on it like vultures. If one of us has to stay behind to talk to a professor another will wait for them. Have your wand ready if you're coming back from detention or something like that."

"We should practice hexes and curses," James decided. "Some of the books Dad gave me have a lot of good ones. We need to learn how to disarm, even if it's a second year spell."

Remus just nodded slightly as they talked. He actually knew quite a few defensive spells already, as his father had made certain. Peter looked frightened, "Sh-Shouldn't we go to Dumbledore?"

James and Remus both shook their heads and Sirius snorted, "What will he do, give them detention and take points from Slytherin? That won't do a thing and we don't even have proof. It's not against school rules to have informants in other houses or to write to family about how their children are behaving. They didn't say flat out that they want to recruit Remus, and they wouldn't unless they were sure he would say yes or they had some blackmail material or something. Dumbledore can't help us."

Peter only looked more frightened at that, "B-But..."

"He's right Peter," Remus said in a flat tone. "We have to protect ourselves."

"And each other," James added.

Remus looked up for the first time. He still was surprised whenever James or Sirius referred to them as a group, or offered to do something for him, or just did it without offering or being asked.

"Marauders stick together," Sirius said. He held out a hand, palm down.

"Marauders," James said and placed his hand on Sirius's.

"M-Marauders," Peter stammered and added his hand.

Remus felt like he was underwater, or under too many blankets and there was not enough oxygen. They were putting their trust in him, and asking him to trust them, and they had no idea what he was, what that trust meant to him. His lip quivered slightly as he slowly reached out his own hand.

"Marauders," Remus breathed quietly.

Sirius placed his other hand on top of the pile and squeezed just a little. Remus looked around and for the first time since he was bitten he didn't feel alone. He had just declared that these boys were his pack, and he knew he would die to protect them if that was what it took. It was overwhelming.

"I still have to write that charms essay," Sirius said and left the bed.

"Me too," Peter left.

James was the only one left with Remus, who still felt slightly stunned.

"That's not the only thing bothering you, is it?" James asked quietly.

Remus shook his head, "James I... I can't..."

Remus wanted to open up now, to tell his friend, but he was afraid, so very afraid of being rejected and shunned. He felt tears threatening as the two sides of him pulled in opposite directions.

"It's okay Remy," James said softly as he shifted his position yet again. "You don't have to tell us anything until you're ready, even if that's fifty or a hundred years from now."

Remus nodded, unable to talk. A morbid section of his mind remarked that it wouldn't matter, because he probably wouldn't be alive in a hundred years, let alone fifty years. If You-Know-Who or the Ministry didn't kill him, his lycanthropy would. As soon as James was gone Remus let go and his tears started to fall. Never before had his burden weighed so heavily on him.

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	5. 4: Freedom and Fights

**Chapter Four: Freedom and Fights**

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The winter holiday brought relative freedom for the Marauders. The only Slytherins left in the school were a sixth year and a second year that had nothing to do with the group that had been bothering them. Until the holiday they went nowhere outside Gryffindor Tower alone, even if they just had one or more of the girls with them, or Frank Longbottom. Frank was almost an honorary Marauder, but he had his own Ravenclaw friends, like Steve Stebbins who the Marauders didn't really know, and Frank wasn't privy to the problems with Sirius's family. James was constantly joking about an Auror his dad worked with named Moody and his own personal catch phrase, 'Constant Vigilance'.

Exams were easier than Remus could have possibly hoped, especially after the frantic studying he had seen from the majority of the students in the tower. Sirius, James, and Peter did not agree with his assessment, though he was sure that Sirius and James had achieved higher scores than they were claiming. Finally, the four Gryffindor first year boys said good-bye to the four Gryffindor first year girls, with quite a bit of unnecessary drama from Sirius and James, and the castle was nearly empty.

The Marauders spent most of the holiday exploring the castle. They visited the house elves daily and did everything they could to avoid their professors and the caretaker outside of meals in the great hall. The only exception to that rule was Hagrid, who was graced with several visits from the four boys who the majority of the staff members were starting to think of as one entity. Where one was, the others were not far away, unless it was Remus in the library. They finished their homework as quickly as possible, due to the rather firm insistence of Remus which James, Sirius, and Peter learned was nearly impossible to deny. The Marauders also started teaching themselves various spells used in dueling.

Remus had taken his walks around the lake for material for his Christmas presents before classes ended, and had five lions already formed, each slightly different. He had decided to send one to each of the girls and one to his father. The others would go to his friends and to Madam Pomfrey, Professor McGonagall, and potentially Professor Flitwick for their help. He mostly worked on them at night when his friends were sleeping, or in the few hours he managed to obtain here and there claiming fatigue.

The crafting of the lions went more quickly with each progressive one so that he had fourteen lions with two weeks left until Christmas. With four of them in his pocket and his senses on full alert for any of his friends Remus made his way to the Charms corridor and Professor Flitwick's office. McGonagall's prediction had been spot on. The tiny man had almost fallen off his stool in delight when Remus described what he wanted to do.

Remus decided against polishing, as he liked the rough texture the stones had. He did want a little bit of animation though, and unbreakable charms. Smiling wide, Flitwick helped Remus decide exactly what animation would be best and how to cast the charms for each different movement. The unbreakable spell was simple, though it wasn't on the curriculum until fifth year. Other spells were deemed more important until then. Remus just shook his head and wondered how making a pineapple tap dance, as he had seen some older students practice, could be more important than keeping something from breaking. It would certainly be a useful spell for potions class.

The charms took another week to complete in secret. Once he was done Remus had taken James aside and, very embarrassed but not for the reason that James suspected, told his friend that he had a fear of owls stemming from a childhood injury. The lie was close enough to the truth that even should James discover his secret it would make no difference. After all, he never said an owl had anything to do with the injury. James had agreed to instruct the school owls on making the deliveries for Remus's Christmas presents. The lions that were gifts to people in the school, and the one that he made for himself as he couldn't resist, were wrapped and placed in his trunk to wait for Christmas Day.

"Wake Up!" James yelled in the middle of the bedroom. "Presents!"

Remus growled and threw his blankets off. By then he knew better than to try to sleep when James was determined to wake everyone. He opened his curtains and glared at James, "What time is it?"

"It doesn't matter," James leapt over to his bed and dragged Remus out, "it's Christmas."

"Prat," Remus smacked James's arm.

James completely ignored him, "Time to wake Siri and Petey."

Remus grinned, knowing that if he looked in the mirror he would instantly see the wolf looking back in that grin. He took out his wand, quietly opened Sirius's bed curtains, and spoke the spell softly, _Wingardium Leviosa_! James whooped as Sirius, still sleeping, floated up and over their heads. James reached up and tickled Sirius, upon which the boy woke instantly and yelped at discovering that he was six feet above the floor.

Remus lowered him slowly and before Sirius could retaliate he said with his wolfish grin, "Peter's turn."

"Ooo," Sirius jumped up and down. "Let me! Let me! Please Remy, I'll love you forever!" He tried to hug Remus, who backed away while James laughed hysterically.

James fell to the floor laughing and Remus nodded and waved for Sirius to wake Peter up. Sirius brandished his wand and used a hex that James and Remus had never heard before. Peter sat up instantly with the look of a startled deer which caused further peels of laughter in the boys' room. At that moment Remus was thankful that the rooms above and below them were empty for the holiday. They would have woken anyone with all the noise they were making.

"Ice water hex," Sirius declared proudly.

Peter recovered and joined in the laughter when James told him how they had woken Sirius. As they were all up they tore into the piles of gifts at the foot of their beds. Remus had never had a Christmas that happy. His father had sent a few presents, mostly clothing, to him at Hogwarts. Peter and Sirius had used the standard fallback and got everyone candy. James's parents had sent each of the boys a small gift, surprising both Remus and Sirius with the animated slippers and boxes of Christmas Cake. Remus had been uncertain when he opened James's gift. In a small box was a mirror, which Remus left in the box in case the mirror was backed in silver. He saw that Peter and Sirius had mirrors as well.

"They're two-way mirrors," James explained with his mouth full chocolate frogs. "We can use them to talk to each other in class, or detention, or if we're in trouble. Just say the name of the person you want to talk to."

Remus dug through his trunk and pulled out his gifts, handing them to his friends. Sirius had the wrapping off the quickest, as James was still eating.

"Cool!" Sirius exclaimed as his lion flicked its tail. "Where did you get these?"

Remus smiled, glad his gifts were a success, "I made them."

"How? We haven't learned how to do anything like this," James said while he inspected his lion. "This is third year work at least."

Remus blushed, "I don't have much money, and I got the idea from a catalogue but I wasn't sure how to make them, so I asked McGonagall and Flitwick to teach me."

Three sculpted lions joined the Marauders at breakfast that morning. Remus marveled that James still had room for food after all the candy he had eaten. The Heads of House and Dumbledore were the only professors still in the castle along with the Marauders and the nine other students that had stayed.

"Where did you get those marvelous lions?" Dumbledore asked as he picked up James's lion and it opened its mouth in a silent roar.

"Remus made them!" Sirius announced as McGonagall and Flitwick turned to pay attention to the conversation.

"Indeed?" the headmaster asked and looked carefully at Remus with twinkling blue eyes. "This is very good work Mr. Lupin, ten points. Minerva, please remind me to send a note to the Lupins."

"I had help sir," Remus said quietly. He felt his cheeks heating up at the praise.

"Don't be so modest Mr. Lupin," McGongall admonished. "We may have taught you the spells but you did all the work yourself."

"Hey James, do you think Remus's face can get any more red?" Sirius teased.

Remus tried to hide his head in his hands while James did his best to get Remus to stop hiding, "Oh I think if we tried we could embarrass him more."

"Yeah!" Sirius exclaimed. "We could tell everyone about the time that he..."

Everyone at the table started laughing when Remus leapt up and tackled Sirius, covering his mouth, "Sirius!"

"You didn't even know what I was going to say!" Sirius made a poor attempt to fend off the attack as he was laughing himself.

Remus got up and brushed off his robes, "Whatever it was I am sure I wouldn't have liked it." He then realized that he had disrupted the meal, "Erm, sorry."

Later that day Remus delivered the remaining lions to Professors McGonagall and Flitwick, and Madam Pomfrey. They were all delighted and touched by the gift, especially as Hogwarts students rarely thought of their professors on the holidays. He also gave one to McGonagall to pass along to Professor Dumbledore, as he wasn't sure how to get into the headmaster's office.

Remus, as usual when the full moon was approaching, got progressively more sensitive, but also more daring and irritable, as the days passed. With how active the four boys were, with snowball fights, dueling practice, and castle explorations, and the missed sleep from working on his Christmas presents, Remus was more exhausted than he had ever been before. He didn't let up on his activity though, but pushed himself, hoping that maybe the lack of sleep would transfer to the wolf.

Even with his senses at their most sensitive, that was how Remus was caught off guard the morning of the full moon. He had been too tired to shower the night before and the amount of control that the wolf took away had made Remus somewhat of a control freak. He hated going even a day without a shower, even if he was going to transform into a werewolf that night. That morning he made sure he woke before any of his roommates so he would have the bathroom to himself.

Remus had almost forgotten how wonderful a shower felt on the morning of the full moon. His muscles were already tense in anticipation of the transformation and the steady stream of hot water massaged his aches to only a dull pain. It was easy to lose track of time and allow the steam to build. When he shut off the water and stepped out to grab his towel he had no idea how long he had been in the shower. He shook his head in a very canine fashion, dried off, and pulled on his boxers.

He stood in front of the full length mirror and examined himself. Anyone who knew what he went through each month might expect to see more scars than he actually had. He had already transformed more than eighty-four times. As it was there were a few jagged white lines crossing his chest, arms, and legs all at different angles. These were from the deepest cuts, as the smaller ones healed too quickly to leave scars behind. He looked away from the mirror and down at his left arm. There was the scar from the bite. Remus traced the most prominent scar on his torso with a finger. That was from his last transformation at home. He had been anxious about starting school and the wolf had decided to express his anxiety. The sound of footsteps on the tile made him freeze in place.

"I was about ready to check if you had drowned yourself Remus," James's voice called out.

Remus was near panic and instinctually spun to face the coming threat. The wolf wanted Remus to run, to knock James down and get as far away as possible. The rational, logical, the _human _part of the boy fought to hold back the wolf, to protect James, but also to hide so James wouldn't see him. It took too long for the human side of Remus to win control.

"Remus I...," James walked into the shower area and his eyes widened. "Remy?"

Something in Remus snapped. He turned, darted around the partition, and grabbed his robes, yanking them over his head as quickly as he could. James followed him and reached out to touch him, but Remus spun out of his grasp and backed away.

"Don't touch me!" Remus yelled, his voice breaking.

James blinked, looking hurt, and his hand dropped. It was the first time any of them had heard Remus raise his voice. Remus could see his friend was confused but at that moment he didn't care. All he could think about was escaping. James slowly walked towards Remus and Remus continued to back away.

"Remy, do your parents...?" James couldn't rip his eyes away from the scared boy or get the sight of the scarred chest out of his mind.

For a moment the fear of discovery left and was replaced with confusion before the insinuation made sense. Remus wrapped his arms around his chest and shook his head, "No, they would never..."

"But how...?"

"I can't tell you!" Remus cried out.

Remus's back hit the tiled wall. It was cold and damp from the steam. His head darted left and right but the only way out was past James. Remus ran past his stunned friend and down the stairs to the common room where Sirius was sitting in front of the fire.

"Morning Remus!" Sirius called out cheerfully.

Remus paid him no attention and darted out the portrait hole. He raced through the corridors with no true destination in mind. His feet took him to the only place that was safe in the back of Remus's mind, to the one person who saw what he experienced every month and understood.

Madam Pomfrey was startled when she heard the doors of the hospital wing slam open with obvious haste. She grabbed a few vials and quickly exited her office. She wasn't sure what to expect, but Remus Lupin huddled on a bed in tears was not it. Her maternal instincts took hold and she rushed to his side and wrapped her arms around him.

"Shh," she murmured. "Everything will be fine." When his tears dried and he just shook silently, clinging to her robes, she brushed the still wet hair back. "What happened Remus? What's wrong?"

"He... he saw...," Remus stammered between gasping breathes.

"Breath slowly Remus," Pomfrey said in a soothing voice. "Deep breath in... deep breath out... deep breath in... deep breath out. Now, who saw what?"

Remus settled down, though he was still shaky, "James saw my scars."

ooOOoo

James stood in shock after Remus raced out of the bathroom, trying to make sense out of what had just happened. He ran over everything he knew about Remus, which wasn't very much he realized, and looked for some answer. When he came up with nothing he walked out of the bathroom and saw Sirius looking at the portrait hole, very confused.

"Sirius, did Remus come through here?" James asked.

Sirius snapped his head back and nodded, "He went running out into the corridor. What's going on?"

James debated whether he should say anything and looked back and forth between the portrait hole and Sirius. He didn't want to explain what had happened twice. He sighed and collapsed onto a chair, "Maybe we should get Peter first."

"Thinking of going for breakfast without me?" Peter asked as he came down the stairs.

James shook his head, "Believe it or not Peter, I'm not hungry."

Peter stopped in his tracks, "James, you're always hungry. Even when you're sick you're hungry."

"Something's wrong with Remus," Sirius said, not taking his eyes off of James's stricken expression.

"What?" Peter asked.

James shook his head, "I don't know. He has... scars... all over his chest and arms and legs. When I asked him about them he freaked out."

"Where is he?" Peter joined them in front of the fire.

James and Sirius both shrugged, "I saw him run out of here about five or ten minutes ago." Sirius turned to James and swallowed, "James, could he be... hurting himself?"

James and Peter both looked at Sirius in surprise, as the possibility had never occurred them. James furrowed his brow, "Why would he do that?"

"All sorts of reasons," Sirius looked at the stunned expressions on his friends' faces, his own face clouded. "Not everyone has a perfect life guys. Some pretty bad things happen out there."

"My dad's an Auror Sirius. I know...,"

"No you don't James, you can't," Sirius said vehemently. "You're eleven-years-old. Do you think your father tells you everything he sees out there, what people like my parents do for fun? Have you heard stories about muggle baiting and hunting and torture at the dinner table? Have you seen...?" Sirius bit his lip and turned away, not able to finish his sentence

James was shaken and he could see Peter was scared. He shoved his surprise at what Sirius was saying, and not saying, to the back of his mind, "Maybe I don't know everything that's going on out there Sirius, but right now I'm more worried about Remus."

"We could never find him in the castle and he knows it better than we do," Sirius said while staring at the portrait hole as though he could see where Remus had gone. "I think we should find a professor."

James and Peter both nodded and the three of them left the common room in search of their Head of House. They found her in the great hall having breakfast with the others still in the castle. The only other person not there was Remus.

"Professor McGonagall, can we talk to you?" James asked as they burst into the hall.

"Is something wrong boys?" McGonagall asked with concern.

James looked to Sirius and Peter for guidance but they looked as lost as he felt, "We don't know."

The headmaster leaned to Professor McGonagall and whispered something. James desperately wanted to know what, but knew he wouldn't find out. McGonagall nodded and looked at the boys sternly, "Follow me."

She led them through the corridors to her office. James and Sirius had already been there a few times to be lectured for fighting with the Slytherins. She conjured extra chairs and sat down at her desk. James, Sirius, and Peter sat down and looked at each other nervously, not sure where to begin.

"I take it this has something to do with Mr. Lupin," McGonagall said.

All three of them nodded and James asked the question on all their minds, "Do you know where he is?"

"Yes I do," their Head of House answered and relief washed over their faces. "He is not in any danger."

"Professor... this morning... I saw...," James was hesitant to tell her now that he knew Remus was safe, but also knew that Remus might still need help that they couldn't give.

McGonagall held up a hand, "I know what you saw Mr. Potter. I can assure you that Headmaster Dumbledore, Madam Pomfrey, and I are all aware of it." She leaned forward and gave them her most intimidating look, "Do not question Mr. Lupin any further. He is not in danger from anyone else, nor is he a danger to himself. A time may come when he chooses to share the reasons with you but you will not push him. Am I understood?"

James's head was spinning. Apparently there was something very big that Remus was hiding from them, that had something to do with those scars, and the Hogwarts staff knew what it was. The professor should have know that making such a big mystery out of it would only make James more curious, but she didn't know him as well as his mum and the headmaster did. He nodded dumbly, as he clearly had no other option. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Peter and Sirius were also nodding.

"I am glad you all agree," McGonagall gave them a small, tight smile and leaned back. "The headmaster granted me permission to alter your memories on the subject if necessary. I trust it will not come to that?" All three of them shook their heads. "Mr. Lupin has already left to visit his mother. He will return in a few days and I urge you all to treat him no differently than you did before."

"Yes, Ma'am," James said, finally finding his voice. "He's not sick too, is he?"

"No Mr. Potter and I will answer no more questions," the stern look was back. "I understand the four of you have already discovered the kitchens?" They looked at each other, not sure what the right answer was. "You are in no trouble today. Breakfast is over but I am sure the house elves would be more than willing to provide you with some sustenance. Do not let me catch you down there at any other time."

All three of them gave her their word that they would not be caught in the kitchens, at least not if they could help it, and left her office. Most of their trip to the kitchens was in silence.

Right before Sirius tickled the pear he turned to the other two, "Was it just me, or do you think she was lying about something?"

"I thought so too," James said, not looking at the other two.

"Do you think Remus really is sick or something?" Peter asked.

"I don't know," James replied quietly, "but we can't ask him. We promised and..."

"What James?" Sirius prompted.

"He was afraid of me Siri," James leaned up against a stone wall and wrapped his arms around his chest. "I've never seen anything like it. It was like... like he thought I might hurt him."

Sirius put a hand on James's shoulder, "Hey, he knows you'd never hurt him, right Peter?"

"Yeah," Peter agreed. "We're the Marauders. We'd never hurt each other."

"I know, and you guys know," James said and looked down at the floor, "but does Remus?"

ooOOoo

Madam Pomfrey kept Remus in his room in the hospital wing an extra day that month. He had told her how tired he had been and as there were no classes she felt justified in keeping him in bed. She wouldn't admit, even to herself, that she felt a need to mother him and keep him away from his friends until he was ready to see them again. Professor McGonagall brought him some advanced transfiguration books and told him of her conversation with his friends.

"They'll figure it out," he said in a hollow voice. "It might take another year, or even two, but they'll figure it out. It may not show, but James and Sirius are really smart."

"They might understand Remus," McGonagall said though she herself was unsure.

Remus shook his head slowly. Any quick motion would hurt too much, "They'll be scared, and frightened people do unpredictable things. My father warned me not to get close. He knew this would happen. I shouldn't be here. Professor Dumbledore should never have accepted me."

McGonagall was accustomed to students coming to her for help with their studies. With the war against You-Know-Who raging outside the bubble of safety that was Hogwarts she had comforted several students when they lost their parents or siblings. Never before though, had she seen a student so young with such a burden. Never before had she outright contradicted what a parent had told their child. The tears she could see the small boy holding back broke through whatever barriers she had that kept her from getting too close to her students.

"You cannot go through life without getting close to people Remus," McGonagall rubbed circles on his back, having seen Poppy do the same for him after transformations. "It may keep your secret safe, but you will never be happy. Do your friends make you happy?"

Remus nodded, "Yes."

"They will not ask you any questions," McGonagall assured him. "With any luck, once they figure out what is going on with you they will know you for who you are and will then be able to accept what you are."

"Do you think so?" Remus looked up at her with hope shining in his eyes.

"You will never know, unless you stay to find out. There is no gain without risk Remus," McGonagall gave the almost dangerously thin boy a hug. She knew that if Remus decided to leave Hogwarts Simeon Lupin would not object. "You are one of the most talented students I have seen here in many years. It would truly be a shame if you left us."

"Thank you," Remus settled back against his pillows and drifted into a restless sleep.

As she left the hospital wing Minerva McGonagall turned back to look at the first year who was curled around a pillow and sleeping. When the headmaster had first told her that one of the incoming students was a werewolf she had objected to his enrollment. Now, in the few short months he had been her student, she had grown attached to him, all her preconceived notions shattered.

He was bright and talented, hardworking and inquisitive. Were he not a werewolf he would go far, but their society's prejudice would hold him back. She already knew that she would recommend him as prefect for his fifth year. She left the wing with a smile on her face. When Remus's friends did discover his secret she hoped they would understand, otherwise Hogwarts, and therefore Minerva and Poppy, might lose him.

Remus took a deep breath before stepping through the portrait hole and into the common room where he knew his friends were waiting. He walked in and saw them sitting in front of the fire. They looked up and stood when he entered. Though he knew they wouldn't say anything he could sense the concern emanating from them. Something had to be done about the tension before it drove Remus mad.

"You know I have some secrets," Remus said as bravely as he could. "Someday you'll know, but right now, I just can't..." he trailed off.

James stepped forward and hugged him, "It doesn't matter. You don't have to say a word."

Sirius joined the hug, "You're our friend, a Marauder, and nothing can change that."

"Nothing you can say will get us to leave you," Peter was the last to hold onto them.

"Thanks guys," Remus's voice could barely be heard.

"Now everybody let go before someone else comes in here and thinks we're a bunch of girls or something," Sirius said jovially.

"Exploding Snap anyone?" James asked, his usual energy returning.

"Just let me put my things away," Remus left for their room to drop off the bag that the house elves had brought to the hospital wing for him. "Prepare to lose your eyebrows Potter!"

He looked at the other three beds and thought of his friends, his pack. Sirius's belongings were everywhere, his trunk half open with robes hanging out. Peter's things were in place but all slightly crooked or looking like they might fall at any minute. Remus's own possessions were all folded, neatly stored, and perfectly clean. James was somewhere in between Sirius and Remus. Even if something in him wanted to run, to leave them and go back home where he could be alone, he wasn't sure if he could.

He walked back down the stairs and saw the game being set up in front of the fire, "I'm ready when you are."

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Please Review!

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	6. 5: Springtime and Leaving

**Chapter Five: Springtime and Leaving**

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True to their word, the incident with Remus's scars was never discussed again. The only change that occurred was that Remus finally felt comfortable changing in the same room as his friends. Now that they knew about the scars he didn't have to hide them anymore. He knew that Sirius and Peter had stared the first time they saw him with his shirt off, but they tried not to and eventually they all got used to it. He never left a shirt off long enough for them to get a close look though. The last thing he needed was for them to see that more scars appeared each month while others faded. He also noticed that James and Sirius had started glaring at anyone who asked him an uncomfortable question or even looked at him funny. It was very strange, but also warming.

"E – expel – imus!" Peter yelled and flicked his wand. A foul smelling puff of smoke came out the tip.

Remus sighed and jumped off his bed. It was after curfew and they had been practicing for hours. It must have taken Peter at least twice as long to learn each spell as it took the others. He stood next to Peter and pointed his wand at Sirius, who was standing in front of a pile of pillows.

"It's like this Peter," Remus explained. "Extend your wand and don't bother with any flicking or anything. The disarming spell just needs to be aimed. You also forgot the most important syllable. It's expelli_ar_mus, accent on the fourth syllable. You don't need to yell, just say it with conviction. Watch me. _Expelliarmus!_"

Sirius was thrown back onto the pillows and his wand went flying to Remus, who deftly caught it and tossed it back to its owner. Sirius grinned at them and James looked up from the essay he was working on. It was due the next day.

Peter nodded, "O-okay." He held his wand out and looked at Sirius fearfully.

"Don't bother," Remus said with a sigh. "If you're not confident the spell won't work. The feeling behind it is just as important as the word. Look Peter, we all know you can do this. Sirius, stop making those ridiculous faces and close your eyes. James, go back to work on that potions essay. I'm going to close my eyes as well," Remus shut his eyes so he could just barely make out the shapes in the room. "Whenever you're ready Peter."

Peter looked at all of them and straightened up. He was always the last to learn any spell. If they ever got in trouble he would have to rely on his friends to protect him. Someday he would find something that he could learn quickly, where he would be the best. He was better than Remus at brewing potions, but James and Sirius were better still. He took a deep breath, "_Expelliarmus!_"

Sirius fell back and the wand flew out of his hand. It sailed through the air and landed at Peter's feet. He was too stunned to pick it up, but Remus took care of that.

"I did it!" Peter grinned.

Sirius came over and collected his wand from Remus. He thumped Peter on the back, causing Peter to stumble, "Way to go!"

"Good job Peter," Remus said quietly. He was already changing into nightclothes, "We knew you could do it."

Peter just nodded. Remus climbed into bed and said good-night to all of them. Sirius was next to get into bed, leaving Peter standing alone in the middle of the room.

"Gonna sleep standing up tonight Petey?" James asked from his reclined position as he rolled up the parchment he had been working on.

Peter shook his head and walked over to his trunk. He dug through it until he found some clean pajamas and changed into them. With his curtains closed and the lights all out sleep was still far away. He could hear the soft snores coming from Sirius, the tossing from James, the near silence from Remus broken by an occasional sigh. Peter knew all three of them were going to be powerful. For Sirius and James it was in their blood. For Remus he could just tell. The sandy-haired boy learned everything quickly like his brain was a sponge for knowledge. Even if his practical potions were just acceptable he knew the theory backwards and forwards. His last thought as he fell asleep was that they would always be there for him.

The spring term passed by quickly. The Marauders had several confrontations with Sirius's cousins and the other Slytherins, and they didn't always escape unscathed. The Slytherins got hit with their fair number of hexes as well. It turned out that Sirius did know quite a few more curses and hexes than the average first year, and even the average fourth year, but he was more than willing to share the knowledge with his friends.

It was quickly established that neither Remus nor Peter would answer their mirrors during classes. Peter was too afraid of getting caught, and Remus actually wanted to pay attention. After all, one of them had to take notes. James had warned them all to keep the mirrors secret. Technically, they weren't supposed to have them, but James's father had gotten them for him. Only Aurors could buy them legally but the law was fuzzy concerning the use of them.

James and Sirius were in the hospital wing as the result of their most recent encounter with Malfoy. Normally they would wait for Remus to look up the most appropriate countercurse or healing spell, but the three of them had gotten caught by crusty old Professor Meadows, who taught Divination. Peter was working on his History of Magic essay and interrupting the chess game that Lily and Remus were playing with nearly constant questions.

"Um, which goblin led the rebellion of 1017?" Peter asked.

"Balzac the Bearded," Remus answered automatically. "Look in Chapter Five of our book. Rook to Knight."

Lily frowned and examined the board. She had seemed preoccupied lately. She moved a pawn forward and took one of Remus's. Remus grinned. He would win in four moves. He picked up his queen and took Lily's. She winced as her queen's head was smashed against the board. Wizard's chess was very violent.

"Erm, what caused the rebellion?" came the inevitable question.

"We're not writing your essay for you Peter," Lily scolded, a bit more harshly than was normal for her. "Read the chapter."

"Something wrong Lil?" Remus asked as he moved his knight into position.

"Aside from the fact that I'm losing pathetically?" she blew a stray strand of hair out her face and moved her king to the side, not seeing the threat from the other direction.

"You haven't been yourself lately," Remus commented. "Check."

"What?" Lily sat up and stared at the board. She frowned and moved her king again.

Remus slid his knight over, "Checkmate."

Lily's king threw down his crown and the surviving pieces on Remus's side celebrated before the board reset for another game. Lily sat back and glanced over at Peter, who was looking from his book to his parchment and back again as if the words would suddenly transfer from one to the other.

"We should study for exams," Lily suggested, avoiding Remus's question. The other girls in their year were working on their transfiguration in a corner. As usual, Remus and Lily had all their work done before the rest of their year-mates.

"Okay," Remus shrugged. "We can go to the library and you can quiz me on Herbology."

"I'll get my book," Lily ran up to the girl's dorm and came back with her bag.

The two of them walked through the halls, stopping briefly to talk with Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost. Much to Lily's surprise, Remus directed her through a few short cuts that he and the other Marauders had found over the winter holiday. They came out of one passage near the transfiguration classroom and Remus decided to bring up the subject of Lily's mood again.

"What's bothering you?" he asked with as much concern as he could put in his voice.

He heard a sniff and turned to see Lily's eyes starting to water. He looked around and pulled her in the transfiguration classroom. He sat her down at a table and took the chair next to her. She wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her robe and looked down at the floor.

"I don't want to go home," she said quietly.

"How come?" Remus asked.

"My sister hates me," Lily explained in a small voice. "She's jealous 'cause I'm a witch and she's not."

"I'd rather stay here for the summer, too," Remus admitted.

Lily looked up at him, "Why?"

"My family's not very close," he said, stretching the truth a bit, "and my father is strict. I won't be able to visit anyone."

Lily sighed, "Me neither. My parents are proud of me, but they wouldn't install a Floo connection just so I can see my friends."

"Were you and your sister close before?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, somewhat I guess," Lily nodded. "She's always been bossy, though. I think she's afraid she won't be able to boss me around now. She was horrified when she saw my potions ingredients."

"She'll get over it eventually," Remus said hopefully. "If she doesn't, then she doesn't deserve you."

"Thanks," Lily smiled sadly. "It felt good just to talk about it."

They stood up and left the classroom. In the corridor Lily suddenly gave Remus a tight hug. He stiffened in surprise but then returned the hug.

"Aw, what do we have here?" a voice drawled.

Remus's eyes narrowed. He recognized that voice. He took out his wand but held it down at his side and turned to face the other people in the corridor.

"Black, Black, Malfoy, Snape," he nodded at each of them.

Malfoy crinkled his nose in disgust, "A mudblood? It's clear you have no taste Lupin."

Remus raised his wand, "Your mouth is as filthy as Snape's hair Malfoy."

Narcissa Black snickered, "I like him."

"Please Cissy," Bellatrix Black looked down at her sister in disapproval. "He's a Gryffindor and a half-blood. Put your wand down Snape. He'd never attack until we did. Gryffindors are too noble to call out the first curse." She rolled her eyes. "Leave mudblood."

Lily looked at Remus in confusion and Remus put a hand on her arm, his anger rising steadily, "Don't call her that. Say whatever it is you have to say and leave us alone."

"Have you thought about our offer little Lupin?" Bellatrix asked in a silky tone.

Remus ground his teeth and fought back a growl, "Bugger off."

"This is your last chance half-blood," Malfoy stepped forward and glared down at Remus. "We have very powerful friends, more powerful than you could hope to be."

"Power isn't everything," Remus spat. The Slytherins laughed. "I want nothing to do with you, or your _friends_."

Snape sneered at him, "Watch your back Lupin."

The four of them turned to leave, but Bellatrix spun and pointed her wand at Lily, "_Furnunculus!_ Now the outside matches the inside."

Remus turned to Lily and quickly cast the counter to get rid of the boils that had erupted on her skin. He held Lily back from retaliating. Her face was reddening with anger. She watched the Slytherins walk away from them cackling, and waited until they were out of sight.

"What was that all about?" Lily asked him in irritation. "What did he call me?"

"Those two girls were Sirius's cousins," Remus whispered in case anyone else was nearby. "His family isn't very happy with him and they've been trying to get one of us to spy on him. How much do you know about You-Know-Who?"

Lily frowned and then shrugged, "It sounds like he's a terrorist or something. Why is everyone afraid to say his name?"

"It's hard to explain," Remus slid down to sit on the floor. The adrenaline that had been pumping through him was leaking away. He motioned for Lily to sit next to him, "You're close when you call him a terrorist, but it's worse. He wants to get rid of all the half-bloods and muggle-borns and purify the wizarding world. The problem is that a lot of the old families, like the Malfoys, the Blacks, the Lestranges, and the McNairs support him. He has Death Eaters, his followers, in almost every department of the ministry. It's more like a civil war than terrorism.

"What they called you, mudblood, is a bad name for someone who's muggle-born. It means you're unclean, you have dirty blood. It's considered the worst insult in our world," Remus glared in the direction the Slytherins had walked off in. "They don't even see muggles as human."

"I get that I guess, but what about the name, all that You-Know-Who stuff?" Lily looked genuinely confused. "I don't even know what his name is."

"Can you do a spell without saying the word Lily?" Remus asked.

"I don't know," Lily looked thoughtful. "I never really thought about it."

Remus looked at her carefully, thinking about her talent in classes and what he _felt_ from her, "In about eight or nine years you might be able to stun someone without saying the curse, or disarm someone. It takes a lot of power, but you have the potential for it. Dumbledore can do just about any spell without speaking the incantation, and several without a wand. None of us will able to until we go through our power spurts."

Lily took in all the information and blinked, "Power spurts?" She shook her head, "Never mind, I'll look it up later. I don't see what that had to do with You-Know-Who."

"Words have power. There are complex spells where you need to know your target's proper name," Remus explained darkly. "I don't think anyone even knows what his real name is, or what he looks like. We only know what he calls himself and you won't catch any witch or wizard saying that title. It sounds silly, but it's like saying his name can draw attention to you, and no one wants to be his next target."

"Whose memorial is it?" Remus heard. He looked up and saw James and Sirius walking towards them.

"Mine. Hey James, Siri," Remus smiled and continued bitterly, "Congratulate me. I'm officially on the Slytherin black list. I want everyone wearing red and gold at my memorial, and balloons and crackers, nothing all morbid and depressing."

Sirius scowled, "What was it this time?"

"Same thing as always," Remus took the hand that James offered and stood up before helping Lily up. "Only this time it was my last chance to join them in their pureblood fanatical crusade, even though I'm only three-quarters pure myself. They called Lily a mudblood," James and Sirius both looked angry. "I was just explaining about You-Know-Who."

James shuddered, "We'll win Lily, don't worry. We have to win."

"Why can't they just leave my friends alone?" Sirius punched the wall.

James grinned, "I know! Let's spike their drinks tonight."

Sirius's mood instantly lightened, "Ooooo, what should we use?"

"I've got the perfect idea," James rubbed his hands together maniacally, "and it's nice and quick to prepare too."

Remus smiled and shook his head at them and shrugged. After they hadn't been caught and punished for the first couple of pranks he was a much more willing participant even if he did restrain them occasionally, "Kitchens an hour before dinner?"

James and Sirius nodded and ran off towards Gryffindor Tower, talking and laughing.

Lily watched them bounce away in amazement, "What just happened here?"

"Don't you know by now?" Remus laughed at his retreating friends. "They're crazy."

Remus made sure to walk Lily back to the common room after they finished studying. He warned her not to walk around alone and to always have her wand where she could reach it quickly. She agreed, a bit wide-eyed, and went up to her room. Remus grabbed Peter and dragged him down to the kitchens. He tickled the pear and found James and Sirius already inside, talking to the house elves.

"What is it tonight?" Peter asked gleefully.

Sirius waved a finger in front of his face, "Oh no, you have to wait and see."

James slipped the potion to Remus, who poured it into a few Slytherin goblets. He gave Sirius a thumbs-up and all four of them left to head up to the great hall.

Several Slytherins that night found themselves a little gassier than usual, in the form of bright pink, nasty-smelling clouds. Remus had made sure that Sirius's cousins had some of the potion in the goblets at their usual seats, of course. The Marauders fought to keep themselves from laughing until some others in the hall noticed their prank. Once the Ravenclaws, who were next to the Slytherins, started laughing they stood up to see their success and joined in. The affected Slytherins were bright red and left the hall quickly to hide until the potion wore off many hours later.

The insults against the four boys grew more frequent and viler. Sirius and James landed themselves in detention at least once a week for fighting with older Slytherins. Snape made sure he was always around Malfoy, Black, or one of the other upper year Slytherins when he hissed his insults, hiding behind their knowledge and power. Whenever Remus and Peter were there they, actually it was usually just Remus, managed to hold back Sirius and James but the four boys were not always together.

When at last it was time for exams and the end of the term the Marauders were planning their final prank of the year.

"I would like everyone to congratulate Ravenclaw House for their win of this year's House Cup," Dumbledore's words brought cheers and applause from Ravenclaw, applause from Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, and some scattered applause merely for show from Slytherin. "Another school year has passed, and you have all summer to empty your brains before coming back in the fall to fill them once more. As a reminder, you are not allowed to perform magic over the holiday." There was no applause for that statement. "I hope all of you enjoy your summers."

Dumbledore lifted his goblet in a toast, followed by the rest of the hall. This was what the Marauders had been waiting for. They lifted their glasses as well and drank with the rest of the hall. The Slytherins, who had been grumbling at coming in second place in the running for the House Cup, were no longer all surly. The Ravenclaws, already in a celebratory mood were nearly silly in their giddiness. The Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors were grinning so wide James was sure their cheeks would be sore the next day. Even the staff table was suddenly full of joy.

Everyone was too happy to notice that Remus ducked under the Gryffindor table. He lit a fuse with his wand and fireworks burst from underneath each table, put in place the night before. Directly under the enchanted ceiling they spelled out the words _'Cheers! Love, The Marauders'_. The best part was that all the teachers were too happy to try and find the perpetrators.

The good mood had not worn off the next morning as the students boarded the Hogwarts Express to return to their homes. James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus got a compartment towards the end of the train for themselves. The cheering potion they had laced the pumpkin juice with the night before wore off a few hours into the trip. Remus was staring out the window as the countryside raced by. Sirius had taken an Ever Bouncing Flashing Shrieking Ball out of his trunk and was whipping it against the opposite wall as hard as he could. James and Peter were attempting to engage Remus in conversation while avoiding the ball.

"Is your family on the Floo network?" James asked over the shrieking.

Remus shook his head, "Limited access only."

James and Peter looked confused but shrugged. Alastor Moody was the only other one James knew of that had limited Floo access to his home.

"But you could meet us in Diagon Alley sometime, right?" Peter said.

"Probably not," Remus grimaced. "I don't think I'd be allowed."

"I guess we'll just owl you," Peter shrugged.

Remus sighed and pulled some parchment out of his trunk. He wrote his address out for each of his friends, "We only get muggle post, no owls."

He tried to give the parchment to Sirius but Sirius held his hands up in refusal, "No! Do you know what will happen if I bring home a muggle address?"

Remus winced, "Sorry, forgot."

Sirius stuffed the ball back in his trunk and the noise level in the compartment went down significantly, "I'll send any letters to James and he can forward them, granted I'm allowed to write of course."

The rest of the trip was taken up with games of Exploding Snap and Gobstones. By the time the train pulled into the station they had gone through several decks of cards. They carted their trunks off and Remus made sure to stay away from James's owl cage. Remus kept an eye out for his father, who was supposed to be picking him up on his way home from work.

He saw James and Peter greeted by their parents, who were standing together with a stern looking woman who had a stuffed vulture perched on her hat. James's mother hugged him tightly, causing several nearby students to snicker at him, and his father ruffled his already messy hair. James was obviously his father's son, with the same hair and build. Peter's parents both gave him hugs not quite as smothering as the one from James's mother. The woman with the vulture hat turned out to be Frank Longbottom's mother.

Sirius was grabbed by his cousins and dragged roughly towards the station's Floo connection. He gave Remus a desperate look, then shrugged and waved. Remus walked through the crowd and found his father standing in the muggle section of the station.

"You've grown," Lupin senior commented.

Remus nodded, "I guess."

"So, you're a Gryffindor," Simeon Lupin said.

Remus nodded again but didn't say anything. His father had been in Ravenclaw and gone on to achieve a Masters in Arithmancy. He worked as a private consultant for various wizarding firms. Remus wasn't entirely sure exactly what his father did.

"You didn't get in too much trouble did you?" his father asked.

"No Dad," Remus answered.

"Very well, it's getting late," his father led him out of the station.

Remus turned and saw the Potters, Pettigrews, and Longbottoms all coming through the barrier together. He waved to his friends, who all waved back with big smiles on their faces, and ran to catch up with his father.

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	7. 6: First Summer Holiday

**Chapter Six: First Summer Holiday**

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Remus knew he wasn't close to his father, but he had thought that the man might want to spend some time with him now since he had been gone for nearly ten months. Instead, his father was off working somewhere almost all the time. He sighed and went outside to get the post. It was unusually hot for the summer and the long pants and long sleeves he always wore so as not to provoke questions were stifling. He longed for a cooling charm, or at least muggle air conditioning.

Remus hadn't heard from his friends yet and he was starting to wonder if they had figured out the muggle post system... or if they had just forgotten him. He pulled the post out of the mailbox and saw a large envelope with his name on it. Excited, he tucked all the other letters behind it as he headed back to the house and looked at the return address. It was from James and it felt thick enough to have several letters inside.

"Hey freak!" a voice called.

He almost reached for his wand as he spun but stopped himself in time. There was a group of teenagers a few houses away and approaching.

"How come you never come outside?" one of them asked.

Remus was not about to answer. His father didn't them want him attracting too much attention from the local muggles. He turned to go back inside and felt a sharp object graze his leg. He spun around again and saw they were all holding small rocks. One of the rocks flew towards his head. Remus caught it deftly, threw it back towards them, and ran. Once inside he locked the door and leaned up against it.

He had heard what the neighborhood children would say about him and his father. The only time either of the Lupins was seen was when they went outside to get the post. His father traveled by apparating or by Floo, and the yard was mostly heather and rocks so it didn't need maintenance. Remus was not supposed to leave the house and fenced in backyard. The muggle teenagers yelled taunts and insults until they lost interest and went to look for something more entertaining.

Remus sighed and opened his package of letters.

_20 July_

_Remy-_

_Hi there! I bet you thought we forgot you. Sorry it's taken so long to write. Mum decided at last minute that we were going to spend two weeks with her family in Germany. You-Know-Who isn't active there right now and she wanted to get away from it for a while, with Dad away from home fighting so much. _

_After Grindelwald it's much harder to find any dark activity in Germany. Their Ministry is super strict. I would've written but there was no way I could figure out a foreign muggle post. I know you'd probably have learned all sorts of things but for me Germany was pretty boring. Most of my relatives don't even speak English._

_Most of my time in Germany was spent flying. Luckily you don't need to talk to play quidditch and I have some distant cousins with some talent. I think I read Quidditch Through the Ages at least a dozen times. That book never gets old._

_My Dad says the Ministry uses muggle post sometimes so he can send letters for me. Siri's folks would have a fit if he tried to send a letter the muggle way so he'll just owl them to me and I'll send them on to you. I think Dad will send Peter's letters too. He was trying to figure out stamps, which is the weirdest name by the way, and put so many on the envelope you couldn't see the address. Luckily, he was doing it here since he needed help with his summer work and my Dad walked in. It took at least fifteen minutes for him to stop laughing, though I'm still not sure why it was so funny. Oh well._

_Nothing much is happening. Mum won't let me see the Daily Prophet anymore because of all the attacks. She said it's too morbid and I should concentrate on being a kid while I still can. I didn't dare tell her that it's too late to stop us getting involved after what happened with Siri's cousins. There is no way my parents are finding out about that. I hear enough complaints about Siri's aunt and uncle without adding that._

_Peter, Frank, and I are playing a lot of quidditch. If I didn't want to train for tryouts I would just sit and watch Peter fly. It's one of the funniest things I've ever seen. You might not like to fly but at least you can. Peter is so wobbly it's amazing he hasn't fallen flat on his face a million times over._

_Peter's looking over my shoulder and he wants to know if you started your homework yet, as if we would have actually started before you. He's having trouble with the charms essay and my help isn't helping much. Of course, if he stopped reading over my shoulder and bugging me he might figure it out on his own. I suggested Flooing over to Lily's but her family is all muggle so we can't do that. She sent Peter a letter telling us all to keep the owls to a minimum. Her sister had a fit the last time one showed up and Lily's been hearing about it for weeks. Maybe we'll start using muggle post with her too._

_How is your mum doing? My mum and dad said if there's anything they can do to just let them know, though dad and all the Aurors are pretty busy right now so we barely even see him. Did you tell us what your dad does? If you did I forgot._

_Mum and I found a boggart in the attic. It was, well, I'll tell you guys on the train. Mum taught me the spell to get rid of them. I wish we could do magic on the holiday._

_Write back and let us know how you are, oh and save Peter from the wrath of Flitwick. You can send letters to Officer Potter, Department of Law Enforcement, Ministry Building, 26 Queen's Lane, London._

_See you on the Express!_

_James_

_and Peter looking over my shoulder again, the git._

_3 July_

_James, Remus, and Peter,_

_I'm owling this to James and he can share it around. I may not write much, as it's tough to get time alone here. I won't tell you how my summer has been so far because you don't want to hear it. 59 days to go and counting. Mum is likely to read any post I get so be careful._

_I'll see you all on the train,_

_Sirius_

Remus went to his father's desk and pulled out some blank parchment. He dipped a quill and started writing to his friends. He didn't really have much to say. Just like any other time he was home his father had ordered him to stay inside during the day and have no contact with the muggles. If a Floo call came he was not to answer it unless it was his father.

He wrote some instructions out for Peter to follow in order to finish his essay. He asked James a bunch of questions about Germany, most of which he was sure James would not be able to answer. For Sirius, Remus complained about the muggles that lived around him, a bit more colorfully than he usually would. He put all the letters in a large envelope and set it on the blotter on his father's desk in the study.

"Your friend's father is Aaron Potter?" Remus's father held up the envelope in the doorway to Remus's room. Remus had been working on his potions essay.

The tone was stern, but Remus sensed a twinge of fear behind it, "I guess. James said he's the only Potter heir."

"Aaron Potter is a senior Auror Remus," Simeon Lupin said harshly. "Do you know what will happen if he finds out what you are?"

"I can't help who my friend's father is!"

"Why are you even friends with this boy? You know what I told you about getting close to people," Remus's father sat down.

"Am I supposed to go through my life without anyone?" Remus asked quietly. He chuckled, "It's not like he would take no for an answer anyway. James is... persistent."

Simeon raised an eyebrow. He hadn't heard an honest laugh like that from his son in many years. The quiet, somber boy he had raised often made him regret many decisions, but he had convinced himself it was for Remus's good. He reached out and put a hand on his son's shoulder. The hazel eyes looked at him in surprise. Was it that strange for him to touch the boy?

"Just be careful Remus," Simeon almost choked on the words. "I don't want to lose you too."

That was a turning point in the father son relationship. Years later Remus would look back and remember that summer fondly. His father finally opened up to him to a certain extent. He was still restricting and stiff but he asked Remus questions about his year at Hogwarts and listened to the answers with interest. He even laughed at some of the pranks Remus related while reminding the boy to stay out of trouble. Remus told his father about the potions that Madam Pomfrey used after the full moon and his father had contacted her the next day for a supply for the last full moon of the summer.

There were more arguments about his friends. Remus understood that his father was afraid. James's father could legally throw Remus in Azkaban without a trial just because he was considered a dark creature. The laws about such things had been suspended because of the war. If he felt his son was threatened through the friendship it wouldn't surprise Remus if he did. Something kept Remus from worrying about that though. He somehow knew that the headmaster would protect him if he could.

The biggest surprise had come for his father only a day before the Hogwarts Express was scheduled to bring the students back to the castle. Simeon Lupin was working that night and Remus would be taking the Knight Bus to King's Cross.

"Be careful with those friends," his father spoke the last word as though he doubted it.

Remus glared at his father. He had found the previous year that controlling his emotions didn't necessarily mean bottling them up, "They are my friends Dad."

"That only makes it easier for them to hurt you! A Black and a Potter, Remus!" Simeon shook his head in exasperation. "You're practically begging for trouble."

Remus felt a growl rise in him that he forced down, "Do not insult my pack."

Simeon paled, looking afraid, "No Remus, not that."

"I can't help it Dad," Remus stared at his father. His condition itself was rarely mentioned, only alluded to. "There are just some things that the wolf decides."

"Do they know?" Remus shook his head.

His father nodded mutely and gave Remus a quick and rare hug before flooing away.

ooOOoo

Sirius stood with his back straight, looking straight ahead as his parents glared at him. He had been confined to his room for the first three weeks of the summer and had only seen glimpses of his little brother. Earlier that evening, his parents had called him out of his room and told him to dress appropriately for dinner with his aunts, uncle, and cousins. They had all just left and Sirius was ordered to remain in the drawing room. His 'pureblood and proud', as James had put it, facade was back in place. His mother's hand slapped him, hard. Sirius tried very hard to show no reaction.

"What do you have to say for yourself young man?" the Black matriarch hissed.

Sirius inwardly cursed himself for what he was about to do. The sorting hat did say he had cunning, "I am considered the best friend of James Potter, Mother."

"His is the son of an Auror, a senior Auror!" Sirius's father thundered, joining in on the chastisement and making this a rare event.

"Yes, he is," Sirius smirked.

Both parents looked at their son careful. The glares narrowed and his mother spoke, "Continue."

"The son of an Auror, one of the top Aurors, trusts me, Sirius Black, implicitly," Sirius told his parents with mostly feigned arrogance. "Has any Black had such an intelligence source?"

"What is your excuse for your House placement?" his father asked, still unconvinced of his son's loyalty.

"The hat considered both Slytherin and Gryffindor for me," Sirius said honestly. "It said I had the cunning and ambition for Slytherin, but that my bravery and disregard for rules suited me well for Gryffindor. Only a truly cunning Slytherin could convince the hat to choose Gryffindor."

"You are no longer confined to your room," his mother allowed with a smirk, "and the library is open to you. I expect you to make use of it and learn that which you are missing due to your placement."

Sirius nodded, "Yes Mother. Goodnight Mother, Father."

His mother held out some parchment, "You had post today. This Remus Lupin could have potential."

Sirius closed his bedroom door and shuddered. It would be a long summer, spouting anti-muggle nonsense and feigning interest in the dark arts section of the family library. It was almost too bad that he already finished his homework in his boredom. He pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill.

_Remy,_

_You're brilliant. Mother approves of our friendship. Feel free to shudder, I know I did. Ignore those muggles. They sound like some slimy snakes I could name. My term of solitary confinement is over, though the price was heavy. Bring all your charms books on the train. I hope this gets to you quickly. Enjoy the rest of your summer more than I will mine. Do you know any cleaning charms?_

_Sirius_

"Sirius, I do not believe you have met Rhiannon Malfoy," the Black matriarch said as she beckoned her son over.

Sirius was dressed in the latest in black dress robes. He bent at the waist just a bit and raised Mrs. Malfoy's hand to just a few centimeters from his face. He kissed the air just above her hand, wondering idly just how close he was to a Dark Mark, "No Mother, I have not had the honor, though I have had the pleasure of exchanging a few words with your son Lucius, Ma'am."

Mrs. Malfoy gave him an appraising look as he straightened and let go of her hand, "You have raised a very gracious son, not at all what I expected from the tales Lucius has told me."

Sirius smiled charmingly, "He was not aware of my... intentions Ma'am. I fear I have led several members of the Noble House of Salazar Slytherin to doubt my true loyalties."

The women in the room all smiled at him and his mother looked very superior. It was all a competition with these pureblood fanatics, "He even managed to fool us. Sirius has always been very cunning. His grades were exceptional as well, tied for third in his House with James Potter. What was your rank overall?"

"I think three Ravenclaws came out ahead of us, definitely Frank Longbottom," Sirius thought for a moment. "Severus Snape came close, and he was the top of Slytherin. He did get the top grade in Potions and tied for Herbology, but did not do as well in Charms and Transfiguration and Defense."

"Which Gryffindors came out ahead of you?" Mrs. Parkinson questioned him. Her son had graduated the previous year.

"Remus Lupin, a three-quarter blood and close friend, almost sorted into Ravenclaw. His father is a mudblood," Sirius snarled and sent a mental apology to his friends, "and there is a mudblood named Lily Evans who was probably also considered for Ravenclaw."

There were several comments about the unworthiness of mudbloods to learn magic and the divine plan to eliminate them all. Aunt Araminta mentioned a bill she was trying to get passed in the Ministry and Sirius was almost ill as he recalled the episodes he saw in the pensieve of his ancestors hunting muggles. Sirius kept a smug expression on his face and attempted to block the racist comments out.

Mrs. Malfoy turned to him, "I recall a Lupin in Ravenclaw when I was a student. What family is the boy's mother from?"

Sirius frowned, "He has never said."

"The mother is Suzanne Bonacieux," Sirius's mother answered smugly.

Sirius's eyes widened. No wonder his mother approved of the friendship. The Bonacieuxs were one of the most influential wizarding families in France, in all of Europe. Suddenly Sirius was left with even more questions about his friend. He quickly erased the surprise from his face and adopted a look of calculation. He had to look at the genealogy books in the Black library. The mystery surrounding Remus was continually growing larger.

ooOOoo

"James, come in here a moment," Aaron Potter called out from his study as his son walked by.

"Sure Dad," James flopped down on one of the armchairs. "How's work?"

Aaron leveled a steady glare at his son, "You know I can't talk about that here."

"I'm not a kid, Dad," James complained. "You and Mum act like I'm still in diapers sometimes."

"Yes, well, so do you," the elder Potter grinned.

"Dad!" James protested and tried to squirm away from his father, who was mussing his hair.

"I'm sorry I haven't had much time for you," Aaron apologized.

James shifted in his chair, "It's okay Dad. There's a war out there. The Ministry needs you. Mum and I will be here when it's all over."

Aaron smiled at his only child, "Tell me about your year. I want to hear more about these friends of yours."

The Potter men laughed through the descriptions of several pranks. James told his father about the howler from Sirius's mother and most of the aftermath. He left out the more serious threats from the Slytherins as well as Remus's scars. His father didn't need to know everything that happened.

"A Potter and a Black," James's father shook his head. "Your ancestors must be dying all over again from shock, his as well."

"Sirius isn't like the other Blacks Dad," James defended his friend. "He's a Gryffindor, and he loves pranks."

Both Potters grinned, "I did hear quite a bit from Albus this year."

"Remus thinks we entertain him," James said with a smile.

"Remus, that's your other new friend, right?" Aaron asked.

James nodded, "Remus Lupin."

"Hm, his father is Simeon Lupin?" Auror Potter looked at his son inquisitively. "I was not aware he had a family."

"He never told me his father's name," James shrugged. "He just said he was in Ravenclaw. His mother went to Beauxbatons."

The expression on James's father's face changed from the casual father look to what James described as his father's 'Auror face'. There was something about Remus that got everyone thinking.

"I should be getting back to work James," his father said with that look still on his face. "Do me a favor and stay out of your mother's hair for a few days."

"Sure Dad," James got up left the room. He glanced back on his way out and saw his father throw some Floo powder into the fire and stick his head in to call the Ministry.

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	8. 7: Darkness and Quidditch

**Second Year**

**Chapter Seven: Darkness and Quidditch**

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Sirius smirked at his cousins as he separated from them after Flooing to platform nine and three quarters. They had been ordered by their parents to continue harassing Sirius and his friends but to dial it back a bit. Under no circumstances were they to injure him or Lupin, though Potter and Pettigrew were another story. Sirius knew they wouldn't succeed in hurting James or Peter. They would have to get through Sirius and Remus first.

His deception had worked almost too well. He was expected to continue playing the part of the rebellious teenager. Sirius wasn't expected to write home at all or come home at any time other than the summer. His mother even gave him a note for Professor McGonagall with blanket permission to visit any of his friends during any holiday apart from summer. She was probably hoping he could ingratiate himself with the rest of the Potter clan.

Sirius went to the compartment at the back of the train where the four friends had spent the trip back from Hogwarts a few months ago. Once there he saw that James, Remus, and Peter were already settled in. Sirius immediately began ripping off his robes, and then started on his shirt. He kicked his shoes off while he worked on the buttons.

"Um Sirius," James said cautiously as he watched his best friend strip, "I like you and all, but not like that."

His joking was cut off by the glare from the blue eyed boy, "Do you know any cleaning charms Remus? I feel so dirty!"

Remus had a growth spurt over the summer and could easily reach the overhead storage now. He immediately began rifling through his trunk. All his books were at the bottom so as not to crush his other belongings. One look at Sirius and Remus had known exactly how his friend felt. It was the same feeling Remus often had around the time of the full moon. He could also see that James and Peter had no clue.

"How bad was it Siri?" Remus asked.

Sirius sat down on a bench in only his boxers. His clothes were in a heap on the floor. He shivered, "It was bad. Mother was so proud of her little _spy_," he spat the word in disgust. "She invited all her friends over so they could see how wrong they were about me. Oh Merlin, I actually..." he groaned and leaned over as though he was going to be sick. He certainly felt like he would.

James's face gradually began to show understanding but Peter was still in the dark. James cast a locking spell on the compartment door and knelt down on the floor in front of Sirius, hands on his shoulders, "You're back with us now Sirius. You can forget about them for the next ten months."

"Got it," Remus declared victoriously. "Step back James." James complied and Remus cast a refreshing spell on Sirius. The dark haired mostly naked boy leaned back on his seat and breathed a little easier.

"What was that spell?" Sirius asked. Remus handed him the book and demonstrated the wand movement. Sirius nodded and performed the spell on his heap of clothing on the floor, then opened his trunk and cast it again multiple times. "Much better, thanks Remy."

"No problem," Remus gave him a small smile and started to leaf through the book for other interesting spells. He found one for disinfecting wounds and figured it would come in very handy for him.

"Do you want to talk about it Sirius?" Peter asked, still not entirely sure what just happened.

Sirius shook his head and leaned back, not bothering to get redressed just yet, "I don't even want to think about it right now, maybe later though." The grin that was so much like James's erupted on his face. "On the brighter side," he pulled out a piece of parchment and passed it to James.

"Brilliant!" James exclaimed. "Christmas is at the Manor this year! Think you could convince your parents Remus?"

Remus closed his eyes and counted. The full moon would be right before break and Madam Pomfrey would probably want him in bed the first day, "I might have to go home for the first day or two but I could probably convince him."

Peter smiled, "Great! Mum and Dad weren't happy that I stayed at Hogwarts last year."

James ruffled his hair, "Aw, did Mummy miss Petey?"

"James!" Peter tried to fend off his friend and they both fell to the floor.

Sirius leapt into the fray, "Hey! Get off my clothes!"

Remus sat back and howled with laughter as James tried to avoid Peter and Sirius tried to get his clothing out from under them. The three of them stopped moving, though, when Remus greeted the people who had just opened their compartment door.

Lily and Yvonne took one look at the boys in a heap on the floor, one of whom was wearing only his underwear, and both turned bright red.

"Hi Lily, hi Yvonne, how were your summers?" Remus asked, still laughing. He leaned back and propped his feet up on James's back.

With James and Peter no longer moving Sirius was able to pull out his robe, which he quickly threw over his head.

"We'll, um, we'll see you later," said Lily, who had recovered her voice first.

The door slammed shut and Remus burst into a fresh bout of laughter.

Sirius and James exchanged a look and James whipped out his wand, "That's it Remus Lupin. _Rictumsempra!_"

Remus was ready, though, and dodged the tickling hex. It ricocheted off the wall behind him and hit Sirius, who dropped back to floor laughing hysterically. James dragged Remus off the bench and he fell to the floor with a thump. Soon hexes were flying all over the compartment. Several students passed the Marauders' compartment but not one was willing to open the shaking door, with thin trails of smoke occasionally escaping. Even the prefects skirted their compartment. There was too great a likelihood of getting hit by an errant hex.

It took the last hour of the train ride for James and Remus, the two least damaged Marauders, to sort out the counters for all the hexes and lead the repairs of the compartment. All four boys were exhausted when they arrived at Hogwarts and only barely paid attention to the sorting. The feast flew by and Dumbledore's opening speech was ignored, with the exception of the announcement of quidditch tryouts. They tracked down one of the sixth year prefects, who knew them very well, and got the password to the Tower, '_abracadabra_'.

Professor Fenwick stood in front of the class of Gryffindors and Slytherins with a stern look on his face, "I am glad we have not yet had a repeat of last year's nonsense. The sooner you learn that the House a person belongs to defines them no more than their last name does, the better." James raised his eyebrows. The wizarding world defined everyone by family. "Now, this year we will be studying dark creatures and how to protect against them. Who can give me an example of a dark creature?"

Several hands shot into the air, "Mr. Pettigrew?"

"Vampires," Peter offered.

The word appeared on the board in front of the class. There was a shuffling as the students fished parchment, quills, and ink out of their bags.

"Very good. Miss Black?"

Narcissa preened, "Dementors."

"Yes. Mr. Snape?"

"Grindylows."

"Miss Evans?"

"Boggarts."

The list expanded until the entire board was covered and a second board appeared on the side wall. That board as well was quickly filled with types of creatures considered dark.

"Now, who can explain what classifies these creatures as dark?" Professor Fenwick asked. "Mr. Pettigrew?"

"They're evil?" Peter said uncertainly.

"No," Professor Fenwick sat on his desk and surveyed the class. "Very few things in this world can be described as truly evil. Can anyone else give me a reason?"

Remus was getting very uncomfortable. It was up there on the first board, one of the first creatures named... werewolves. He wondered, not for the first time, if the entire staff knew what he was, or if it was just limited to the headmaster, McGonagall, and Pomfrey.

"Miss Evans?"

Lily looked at the boards in thought, "Doesn't the Ministry classify them?"

Professor Fenwick raised his eyebrows, "Yes, the Ministry does have an official list of which creatures are considered dark. Who knows why a creature would be put on that list?"

Remus reluctantly raised his hand and was called on, "Creatures that have magical properties and have attacked wizards are classified as dark."

"Finally! Thank you Mr. Lupin, ten points to Gryffindor," Professor Fenwick smiled. "Those are two of the most significant characteristics that classify dark creatures. Notice that no one mentioned bears, or sharks, as these animals do not have magical abilities but have killed humans. There are also many beings with magical abilities that are not considered dark, such as centaurs, elves, and phoenixes.

"Over the course of this year you will learn identification and the theory of defense against a significant number of these creatures. As you can see the list is rather long, and the Ministry's list is even longer. Many of the creatures we cover in theory we will not learn the spells to defend against as those are N.E.W.T. level spells. We will be focusing on those creatures that are native to this part of the world, those you are most likely to encounter. For homework I want an essay on why you believe three creatures that are officially classified as dark might not be dark. I want at least twelve inches for each creature. Come prepared for a practical lesson for your next class."

Remus did his best to block out the overwhelming smells. There was a reason no werewolves ever became Potions Masters. Their noses were too sensitive to spend that much time around so many noxious fumes. The myriad of scents never failed to distract him.

"Mr. Lupin!" Professor Ayre bellowed. "Pay attention. You should have lowered your flame over a minute ago. Clean that up and start over."

_Evanesco!_ The potion vanished from Remus's cauldron. James gave him a sympathetic look from his seat next to Remus. Remus just sighed and tried to get the potion right. He did much better when he worked with a partner. Then he could prepare the ingredients while his partner worked with the potion. After a trip to the supply cabinet to replace the ingredients he had already used Remus began chopping his new acetonia roots.

None of the other Marauders could figure out why Remus was being so quiet. They didn't remember the Remus from the beginning of their first year, only the Remus that had been on the train ride away from Hogwarts. Now that Remus was with his friends again he was thinking over the conversations he had with his father. He knew James and Sirius were smarter than they let on. When they got to the werewolf section in Defense, his friends would figure it out. He just had to prepare for when they did.

Towards the end of the second week of classes it was as though they hadn't left Hogwarts. The Marauders crowded around a pile of books on the International Treaty on Vampire Conversion of 1673. At that conference laws had been put in place to reduce the increasing number of vampires that were endangering the wizarding world of discovery. Remus had been amused to hear the muggle misconceptions regarding various dark creatures. Vampires had absolutely no problem with crosses or garlic, though they did have a more sensitive sense of smell than full humans. They were as likely to stay away from someone who hadn't bathed in a few days as someone carrying a string of garlic.

James couldn't sit still at breakfast that morning. That in itself was not unusual, but he was even more restless than normal.

"What's with James?" Remus asked Sirius quietly.

Sirius gave him an odd look, "Are you feeling okay? Quidditch tryouts are today."

Remus smiled. That more than explained James's behavior. "Sorry. I've been a bit distracted."

"No kidding," Sirius looked around and saw no one was paying attention to them. "Can we talk Remus?"

"Is something wrong?" Remus asked with a slight frown.

Sirius shrugged, "That depends."

"We can go out to the quidditch pitch," Remus suggested quietly, not looking at Sirius. "Tryouts won't begin for a couple of hours, right?"

The pitch was deserted, the stands empty. Sirius and Remus sat on the benches in the Gryffindor section with the sun beating down on them. It was quickly too warm for the black school robes which were discarded so the boys sat in their muggle clothes only.

"Why didn't you tell us your mother is a Bonacieux?" Sirius asked.

Remus looked up in shock, "How did you find out?"

"My mother is thorough," Sirius said dryly. "She wanted to know who I was friends with. It was mentioned while she was bragging to her friends. You have a powerful family."

"I haven't seen any of them in about five years," Remus said, resigned. He was looking out over the pitch. He could feel Sirius's eyes on him but he refused to meet them. "That includes my mother. She left us when I was seven. I'm a Lupin, not a Bonacieux. Technically I'm still in the family, but as far as they're concerned my father and I might as well be dead."

Remus could hear the confusion in Sirius's voice, "But then where...?"

"As far as I know my mother is perfectly healthy... but I'm not," Remus stood and leaned against the rail that separated the stands from the pitch. "Every month I go for... treatment, but there's no cure, and no, it's not contagious. Dumbledore wouldn't let me be here if it was."

Sirius stared at his friend's back, unsure of what to say. He wished James was there was right then, but his hyperactive friend was not in any condition to listen to something like that. Sirius thought back. Every time Remus went away he came back very tired. His mood would change as well. He got up and stood next to Remus, resting a supportive hand on his back. Remus turned to look at him and Sirius saw that the hazel eyes were bright with unshed tears. He felt a flash of anger for anyone who would cause his friend more pain.

Remus looked away again and they stood in silence for an unknown time. Sirius had become quite adept at finding things to think about that summer while he was supposed to be listening to his parents and their friends debate their pureblood ideals. How long had Remus been sick? Remus had said there was no cure. Did that mean he would be sick for the next hundred years, or was he dying?

"Are you going to tell the others?" Sirius asked after a time.

Remus seemed to shrink a bit, and Sirius noticed that his friend had grown taller than him, "It's hard... I..."

"You don't have to," Sirius immediately reassured him.

"Could you?" Remus asked hopefully.

Sirius nodded. Remus never asked any of them for anything. It was the least he could do, "When is your next treatment?"

Remus closed his eyes and breathed deeply, "Next week."

"I'll tell them then. You don't have to be there for it," Sirius said firmly.

"Thanks," Remus said in his quiet voice that had undertones which compelled people to listen. "I think I'm going to take a nap."

"Why don't you take one out here?" Sirius suggested. "The sun feels nice. I'll wake you when tryouts are over."

Remus smiled, "That's a good idea."

Remus pulled out his wand and transfigured his robes into a pillow. Sirius cast a cushioning charm on the bench and Remus curled up, asleep within moments. Just the conversation with Sirius had been exhausting. James and Peter came out only a few minutes later and found Sirius watching Remus sleep.

"Stay here with him while we try for the team, okay Peter?" Sirius said.

Peter nodded and sat down next to Remus's head. Sirius looked down at the pitch and saw Tim beckoning towards them. He had been made quidditch captain that year and was eager to whip his team into shape.

James and Sirius ran down to the pitch, "What's with Remus?"

"I'll tell you later," Sirius replied. "Keep your mind on quidditch."

"Okay!" Tim stood tall in front of all the potentials. "I want everyone trying out for the chaser position and backup positions to stay here. Those trying out for any other backup position will see their counterparts. Beaters go with Becca and Adam. Seekers see Thom. Keepers can go join Mia."

Sirius grinned at James and ran off to join the beater hopefuls. James stayed with Tim and the five other people trying out for the open chaser position.

"Everyone, this is Amy," Tim gestured to the girl standing with him. "She's our other chaser and my assistant captain. I want everyone in the air. Follow Amy and try to stay away from the bludgers."

The potential chasers mounted their brooms and took off. James knew he was a good flyer. His uncle had taught him well and he had been recruited for professional quidditch but had become an Auror instead. Amy flew fast, executing sharp turns, rolls, spirals, dodges, and dives. Two of the people following fell behind, unable to keep up. Another was hit by a bludger sent flying towards the chasers by Sirius, but managed to stay on her broom. When Amy landed James was right behind her and grinning. One of the other two who had made it was Yvonne and she was just a minute behind James.

Tim took out the quaffle and rose into the air. The next two hours were spent in drills, throwing the quaffle back and forth and attempting to get shots by potential keepers. Peter cheered for James and Sirius from the stands, remarkably not waking Remus the entire time. He was joined by the second year girls that weren't in the air not long after the tryouts started and they cheered on their roommates, Von for chaser and Bea for backup seeker.

Just before it was time for lunch, the group of sweaty teens gathered around Tim who told them to go take showers. He would post the team roster after lunch in the Gryffindor common room.

Sirius slapped James on the back, "Good flying mate. I couldn't hit you at all."

"You were aiming for me?" James protested indignantly, thinking of a few near hits he had.

"Of course. How else could you show off your superior skills?" Sirius declared. "Let's get Remus and Peter and get out of here."

Remus led the way up the common room, taking several short cuts even though he was still half asleep. Over lunch he had been regaled with a play by play of the quidditch tryouts, mostly from Peter's point of view. He knew that Peter and James had known each other for years, but Peter seemed to only now be developing a sort of hero-worship for James. It was a bit weird.

There was a crowd around the announcement board when they walked into the common room and a lot of murmuring. Remus jumped to look over the heads of the people in the way. He had gone from shortest Marauder to tallest all in one summer.

"It's not posted yet," he told his anxious friends.

Tim and the rest of the current team came down the stairs then from the fifth year boy's dorm. The team captain had a piece of rolled up parchment in his hand, "I'd like to let you know that everyone who tried out did a wonderful job. Unfortunately there was only one open spot on the team. I'd like to congratulate our new chaser, and the new backup team."

He pushed his way through the crowd and pinned the parchment up with a flick of his wand. There was some disappointed mumbling at the results on the board. Remus put his hands on James's shoulders to stop him from bouncing. The movement was making him feel seasick, and Remus had never even been on a boat.

The second year boys eventually made it to the board and James and Sirius started jumping and punching the air in victory.

"Yes!" James yelled. "I'm on the team!"

"I told you!" Sirius grinned at his friend. He had made one of the backup beater positions.

"James get over here!" one of the beaters, Adam, called out and waved. James bounced over to join the team.

ooOOoo

"Potter scores again! That puts Gryffindor ahead 70-60. This is amazing. Gryffindor has not had a winning team for at least five years," the announcer continued talking about the history of the Gryffindor team's luck until McGonagall tried to take over the commentary.

"You are commenting on a game Richards!"

"Sorry Ma'am," she excused herself. "And Ravenclaw is in possession of the quaffle. Ooo, that's a steal by Dubois of Gryffindor."

Remus, Sirius, and Peter cheered for the Gryffindor team in the stands with the rest of Gryffindor house. James scored again and flashed a smile at the stands. Remus heard some girls giggling behind him and rolled his eyes.

"James has a fan group," Sirius nudged Remus and laughed.

"...and the seekers have spotted the snitch! Gryffindor seeker Davies is just barely ahead of Ravenclaw seeker Donnelly and she reaches and a bludger knocks both seekers off course. That bludger was from Ravenclaw beater Adams. Gryffindor is still in the lead 90-60 and the snitch has vanished once again."

There was a collective moan of disappointment from the entire crowd.

"That dirty little..."

"Peter!" Remus scolded. "That's how the game is played. Save it for a foul."

"Is that the snitch again? Davies dives followed by Donnelly and ooo, Merlin, that's gotta hurt! Donnelly is ploughed! Excellent feint by the Gryffindor seeker. That's a time-out for Ravenclaw and Davies has time to search for the snitch while Madam Hooch checks for injury of the Ravenclaw seeker," Karen Richards, a Gryffindor sixth year commentated.

"While we're waiting, who here thinks that the new chaser Potter is the best thing the Gryffindor team has seen in years, and I'm not just talking about his talent in the air." She fanned herself, "Rowr. If I was a few years younger, or he was a few years older..."

"Richards!" McGonagall's face was turning red.

"And they're back in the air. Gryffindor maintains their lead though Ravenclaw is closing in 90-70. Gryffindor chaser Potter has the quaffle, passes to Spinnet, to Potter, to Dubois, to Spinnet who shoots, no passes to Potter who scores in a spectacular play. That's 100-70, Gryffindor."

Sirius searched the sky for the snitch. He saw James just barely avoid a bludger to the leg as he stole the quaffle from a Ravenclaw chaser.

"What's that? The Gryffindor seeker has caught the snitch. That came out of nowhere! Gryffindor wins with a spectacular 250-70, in Gryffindor's first win in three years!"

James landed and the team shared one great big hug. Students wearing red and gold poured out of the stands and converged on the players, slapping their backs, shaking their hands, and hugging them. At least two girls kissed James on the cheek. He felt like he was floating. He spotted Sirius, Remus, and Peter coming towards them and ran to crash into them. A group of girls passed by and James grinned and waved. The girls giggled and started whispering to each other excitedly.

"I think the attention is going to his head," Remus smiled.

"Aw, let him have his fun," Sirius smiled back and called back to Peter. "Come on Peter. James will catch up in the common room."

The team showered and changed back into their daily robes.

"Party in the common room!" Tim announced as he headed out of the changing room, grinning broadly.

James walked out of the shower and rubbed his hair dry. He reached into his locker and pulled out his robes. Adam opened the locker next to his and pulled out his robes.

"Great game James!"

"You too," James grinned. "That was a great hit at their keeper."

Adam shut his locker door and leaned towards James, "Do you have a girlfriend?"

James shook his head, "No."

"How about a boyfriend?" Adam grinned.

James's eyes widened, "I... erm..."

Adam kissed James lightly and James was shocked into inaction. He regained his senses and opened his mouth in surprise. Adam stepped towards him and his tongue darted into James's mouth. James surprised himself by placing a hand on Adam's bare back and moaning into his mouth. He was suddenly incapable of coherent thought. Adam's hands held James's head as their lips pressed together and their tongues chased from mouth to mouth. James felt himself growing hard and felt the same from Adam as he rubbed their hips together.

Adam pulled his mouth away and kissed James's neck. James let his head fall back against the locker door as his hands explored the feel of Adam's back. Adam's kisses traced a path down James's chest, taking each nipple between his teeth and lips, and he lowered himself to kneel on the floor. He unwrapped the towel from James's hips and took James in his mouth. James cried out and felt a pleasant fog creep over his mind.

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	9. 8: Realizations

**Chapter Eight: Realizations**

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James didn't tell his friends what happened in the locker room after the game. It still confused him. Adam acted the same as he always had, a casual friend. He flirted with both guys and girls. After a few days James shrugged and decided to take things as they came. If nothing else he had some fun and learned quite a bit about himself and how to take care of others.

Adam did discreetly introduce James to some of his friends, which had led to James meeting a third year Hufflepuff girl in the Astronomy Tower one night. Both girls and guys flirted with James daily following his foray into quidditch and he found he enjoyed it immensely and flirted right back. His step developed a bit of a swagger that the other Marauders teased him about constantly.

The next week brought another of Remus's visits home. He had been acting strangely, kind of jumpy, and James was reminded of his conversation with Sirius before tryouts. James had been distracted by earning a place on the team and then busy with practices and homework and pranks and... other stuff... and had completely forgotten about Remus.

Sirius wondered just how to bring up the subject of Remus being sick. He sat in the common room and watched James help Peter with his homework, supposedly working on an essay himself. It was after curfew, and most of the earlier years were in their dormitories already. Instead of working his mind was on Remus and the questions he had been asking himself for weeks. What kind of disease did he have that couldn't be cured? Magical medicine could fix just about anything. Anything it couldn't fix usually ended up making St. Mungo's long term care ward the permanent address of the patient.

"Well," James stood and stretched, "I'm off to bed. You guys coming?"

Sirius nodded and packed his work away. He hadn't gotten anything done anyway. Peter, who had been following whatever they did more and more lately and not voicing his own opinion, rolled up his parchment and gathered his books together.

"Where's Remus?" Peter asked as Sirius closed the door to their dormitory. "Is he visiting his mum again?"

"Of course he is," James answered. "He wasn't at dinner and we haven't seen him all night."

"Why doesn't she just go to Mungo's? Who actually stays sick for years?" Peter said with a mixture of confusion and disdain.

"Remus does," Sirius spoke up sharply from where he had collapsed on his bed.

Peter just blinked at Sirius owlishly while James stopped putting his books away and spun around to look at Sirius in sudden comprehension.

"I knew it," James said in a rush. "I knew there was something. I knew McGonagall lied to us. He was sick on Halloween and then he was suddenly better and he never talks about his parents or his other family. Do you know what it is?"

Sirius shook his head sadly and was going to explain why he never asked but Peter interrupted, "What are you talking about?"

James sighed and wondered if Peter would ever understand anything without getting it explained first, "Remus's mum isn't sick Peter. Remus is. He doesn't go visit her, he... where does he go?"

Sirius shrugged, "He said he goes for treatment. I assumed St. Mungo's... but he came to the feast...," Sirius flung himself off his bed and crossed over to look at Remus's portion of the room. There were very few personal items. There was a framed picture of the four Marauders taken the previous year. There was one of the miniature lions Remus had made. The mirror from James sat beside the lion. The rest of them all had several belongings on their nightstands, their wardrobes, in their trunks, and on their beds, but aside from those three items all Remus had was extra books. "I think he's in the hospital wing. He must have convinced Madam Pomfrey to let him go early on Halloween."

James was nodding and sat down on his own bed, "He didn't tell you what's wrong with him?"

"Has Remus ever asked either of you to do anything for him?" Sirius questioned James and Peter. Both of them shook their heads. "If he did, what would you do?"

"Help him of course," James answered for both of them. Peter sat down on James's trunk and nodded in agreement.

"No matter what?" Sirius asked.

"Remus would never ask for something I wouldn't do," James declared firmly.

Sirius sat Remus's trunk, facing Peter, "I couldn't ask. You should have seen him, his face...," Sirius was visibly upset. "Right then, I would have done anything... anything at all... if it would get rid of that, that pain... and desperation... He told me there's no cure."

James and Peter just stared at Sirius and he knew exactly what was going through their heads. He had been preoccupied with the same thoughts all week. Peter was the first to actually speak it, though.

"You mean he's... he's... dying?" Peter squeaked.

James stood up suddenly, "No! He's not. He can't be. Why would he even be here if he wasn't going to finish school?"

"I get the impression that Remus didn't have any friends before Hogwarts. Has he mentioned any to you?" Sirius ventured. He had been wondering about the same questions Peter and James had asked.

James shook his head and turned to the smallest of their group, "Peter?"

"He hasn't said anything to me," Peter looked like he was nearing tears.

James motioned for Peter to get off his trunk. Once Peter did he wrenched it open and started rifling through it, coming out with his invisibility cloak.

"Where are you going?" Sirius asked warily.

"I need to go for a walk," James said in a tone that showed he was deeply upset.

Sirius put a restraining hand on James's arm and James looked at him, almost glaring, "Don't go to the hospital wing James."

"Why not?" James asked defiantly.

"Remus said I could tell you guys everything he told me, but we promised him we wouldn't ask questions," Sirius reminded James while Peter looked on nervously. "He could barely tell me what he did. If you go there..."

James looked down at the floor. He had been thinking of going to the hospital wing, just to reassure himself that Remus was there, but Sirius was right, "I won't Siri. I just need to get out of here."

Sirius nodded and let James go. He closed himself up in his bed and stared up at the canopy. Even with the newly fashioned Dark Lord out there, who had steadily grown in power over the last five years, Sirius didn't know anyone who had died. It probably helped that his whole family was dark, but not actually fighting on either side, though he had some doubts about his aunts and uncles. He had seen those memories in the pensieve, but none of those people had names, or personalities. He fell into a fitful sleep and woke several times that night. He was awake when James came back in the early hours of the morning.

ooOOoo

James left Gryffindor wanting to forget. In the short time he had known Remus he had grown to feel protective of his quiet friend, even though Remus didn't really seem to need protection. He wandered the corridors under his cloak. He passed the kitchens but the pit in his stomach wasn't from hunger for once. Eventually he wandered up to the North Tower and found an open room, dark inside except for the light from the full moon. On his way to the window he tripped over something. There was the rustle of fabric and some muttered curses.

"Hey, who's there?" a voice whispered.

James cringed. He had to walk in on someone, "Sorry. I'll just..."

"James?" he thought he recognized the voice.

"Adam?" James guessed.

"_Lumos_," Adam said and held out his wand. "Um, James, where are you?"

"Damn!" James had forgotten he was wearing his cloak. He saw that Adam was only half-dressed and a girl he thought was in Ravenclaw was holding her robes closed. James took off his invisibility cloak with a flourish. "I forgot I had it on. Please don't tell anyone."

Adam and the girl both looked at him with wide eyes. Adam whistled, "Where did you get an invisibility cloak?"

"Family heirloom," James answered. "My dad snuck it into my trunk last year."

The girl laughed and Adam got up from the floor to look at the cloak, "Oh yeah, James meet Kathleen. Kathleen this is James Potter. Why are you wandering around after curfew?"

James and the girl had exchanged greetings, though both of them were still a bit uncomfortable. Adam didn't seem to notice. James almost forgot about the situation, though, at Adam's question.

"I... um... well...," James stuttered and looked out the window. "I just had to think about something."

The reason he was wandering the castle came back and James felt like hexing someone. He almost wished he had bumped into Snape instead of Adam and the girl. He had some new hexes he wanted to try out on someone. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Adam lean down and whisper something to the girl. She giggled and got up, crossed over to James, and kissed him softly.

"Adam tells me you're a good kisser," Kathleen murmured in his ear.

His earlier thoughts were banished. James had been wishing he could forget all about Remus and Sirius's family and the war outside and the danger his dad was constantly in if only just for the night. This was the perfect opportunity. He draped his cloak over a chair and pulled the girl close to him, covering her lips with his and sneaking his hands inside her robes to find there was nothing beneath them. He almost jumped in surprise when Adam stepped up behind him and nibbled on his neck. Instead he felt a hum of satisfaction build up in his chest and escape from his throat.

It was hours later when James and Adam snuck back into the common room under James's cloak, having first delivered Kathleen to the Ravenclaw dormitories.

ooOOoo

The days following that full moon were just like the ones during their first year after James had seen the scars on Remus's chest. The Marauders were all a bit uncomfortable around each other. Remus was more quiet and withdrawn than usual. Sirius was anxious and snapped at anyone who even came close to insulting Remus, resulting in some very amusing situations, and embarrassing comments from the Slytherins. Peter's general whininess increased. James was distracted, and was missing from the dormitory one or two nights a week though none of the Marauders knew where he went.

They continued to play pranks and trade barbs and insults with the Slytherins. James managed to hit Snape with a befuddlement hex, and Slytherin lost about thirty points from the following chaos. In general that year Sirius's cousins had backed off a bit and the other Slytherins, with the exception of Snape, had followed their lead. The Marauders were still careful not to be caught alone with them.

Professor Fenwick stepped in front of the class and all the talking ceased, "In this unit we will be discussing dark creatures that have many of the same legal rights as other wizards and witches, but many more restrictions. Everyone open your books to page 296 and Miss Black will read the passage concerning werewolves."

As usual, the Marauders sat in the back of the room, doodling on each others' notes and keeping up a running whispered commentary on the class. Narcissa Black tossed her long blond hair over her shoulder and started reading in a loud clear voice. Professors often chose for her for reading to their classes. She never tripped over words or mumbled.

"Have you ever met a werewolf?" Sirius leaned over Remus to ask James.

James shrugged, "I don't know. I could have. I mean, unless it's a full moon you can't really tell easily."

"It would be cool, though," Sirius said wistfully.

"Right until it bites you," Peter commented.

"Mr. Pettigrew! No talking while another student is addressing the class. Five points from Gryffindor. Continue Miss Black," Professor Fenwick gestured for her to keep reading. Somehow it was always Peter that got caught talking in class.

Remus fidgeted uncomfortably between his friends. He wished the teacher had just taken werewolves off the curriculum, or left them for an essay assignment, or _anything _so he didn't have to sit there and listen. Half the 'facts' Narcissa was reading off were pure propaganda. When she stopped Professor Fenwick corrected about a third of the mistakes the book had made and Remus suspected only he knew some of the others.

"How do we identify a werewolf? Are you paying attention Mr. Black?" Fenwick snapped.

Remus almost pitied the man, and the rest of the staff that had to deal with the Marauders. Sirius looked up from his sketch of what he thought a werewolf looked like, "Yes, sir."

"Good, then tell us all how to identify a werewolf," Fenwick ordered.

Sirius stood and recited with a completely straight face, "On the nights of the full moon beware of all large snarling canines."

The professor glared at Sirius, who resumed his seat as several of the students snickered, "Thank you Mr. Black for that sage advice. While avoiding forests and canines during the full moon will tend to protect you, it can be useful to know how to identify a werewolf at other times of the month. Unfortunately, unless you go around making everyone you encounter touch pure silver or ingest Wolfsbane extract there is no way to be certain. Even then, a strong enough willpower can hide the reaction..."

The professor continued on, mostly mentioning the ways to escape a werewolf if you happened to encounter one during the full moon. He gave the students a list of spells that would work against a werewolf, but then informed them all that they were not powerful or experienced enough to even give a werewolf a headache and they would not actually learn how to cast the spells for another few years.

The worst moment for Remus though, was when Professor Fenwick brought up You-Know-Who and his attempts to recruit werewolves into his army. It did not help that the attempts had been very successful, as You-Know-Who promised werewolves much more freedom than the Ministry of Magic did.

Three different essays were assigned to the students, seemingly at random. Remus suspected otherwise when the parchment he read asked for an essay on the legal restrictions placed on werewolves by the Ministry of Magic. Remus had to list the restrictions, the reasoning behind them, and his opinion on each one. It was going to be pure torture, even if he could probably write the essay from memory.

The winter holiday was drawing near. Peter was going home that year, and James, Sirius, and Remus were staying at Hogwarts. James had offered Christmas at Potter Manor again, but the full moon was on December 23rd, and Remus had decided he just wouldn't be up to it. James determined to stay at Hogwarts for Remus, and Sirius had followed suit. Peter's parents had insisted he come home.

During the last full moon before the holiday James, Sirius, and Peter were sitting in the library and writing their defense essay at the last minute. None of them knew it was the full moon, though, as they were not doing Astronomy homework and therefore paid the sky no attention whatsoever.

"What did you get Petey?" Sirius leaned over to look at Peter's assignment.

"Not you too!" Peter bemoaned the continuation of his mother's nickname for him. He glanced down at his parchment and sighed, "I have, _'Describe the habits of the werewolf and detail its weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Explain why werewolves are dark creatures.'_ Do either of you have that?"

Sirius shook his head, "I've got the legal restrictions on werewolves. I think Remus's was the same. He finished it a week ago but he won't let me see it."

James chuckled. Sirius was constantly trying to copy essays off of Remus and Remus had taken to charming his work so Sirius couldn't cheat. "I have to dispel the myths about werewolves that Fenwick listed," he waved his parchment, showing a list of twenty myths, most of them from muggle movies and books. "I think this one targeted muggle-borns. Listen to this one, _'Werewolves appear as upright men with hair all over their bodies, long fingernails, and fangs.'_ Is that the most ridiculous thing you ever heard or what?"

Sirius and Peter laughed. They pulled out their textbooks and went looking for whatever the library had left. Mr. Spean, the librarian, luckily kept a good collection of books on each current assignment on library use only. It kept students from hoarding books and condemning their classmates to poor grades. The three of them remained in the library until Mr. Spean kicked them out and sent them back to their common room for curfew.

They were still laughing over some of the myths James had to write about as they were getting into bed that night. One in particular, that werewolves always howled at the moon immediately after they transformed, popped into his mind as he passed an open window. He stopped to look outside at the perfectly round moon and wished Remus was there to see it. Remus was always looking out windows at night, staring at the stars and the moon...

His train of thought trailed off and James gasped.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"Nothing," James said quickly. If he was wrong he could really hurt Remus by voicing his suspicion to Sirius and Peter. He thought up a lie quickly, "I think I left part of my essay in the library. I've got to go get it."

Peter was already in bed. Sirius yawned and crawled behind his curtains as James disappeared beneath his cloak. Sirius didn't comment even though he knew James hadn't left anything in the library, as James just vanished some nights. James left Gryffindor Tower and headed towards the hospital wing. If they had been right earlier, and Remus was getting treatment for some illness, then he would be there and James could just go to bed.

James snuck into the darkened hospital wing and saw that all the regular beds were empty. There were still the private rooms, though, for particularly embarrassing problems or students who had to stay for an extended visit. He peeked in each windowed door and saw no sign of Remus or any other patient. As he neared the last door he crossed his fingers and looked inside. There was no one.

Frantically, he checked all the rooms again, convinced he missed something, only to reassure himself that all the private rooms and all the regular beds were empty. James almost sank onto one of the beds and pounded against the mattress with frustration when he remembered that Madam Pomfrey would probably have some charm to let her know if a student needed her.

Outside the hospital wing James slid to the floor and leaned up against the wall to wait. He had to know one way or the other. James drifted in and out of a most uncomfortable sleep. When he slept he dreamt of being chased by a giant furry monster with yellowed teeth, or of Remus clawing at his own body and opening great gashes which faded to the scars James had seen. Awake, James thought out several responses once he saw Remus. Did he tell him he knew? Could he even face Remus now that he knew his secret?

James was woken by voices. By the light coming in the windows of the corridor it was just after dawn.

"Just a bit further dear," Madam Pomfrey cajoled her patient. "We're almost there."

"I'll be okay," Remus replied. James felt a lump form in his throat. He had never heard Remus sound like that, his voice so tight coming between gasps of pain.

Madam Pomfrey 'tutted' and James felt a breeze as they passed him, though he couldn't see them. He stood as quietly as possible and followed, unable to stay behind. He had to see. He followed the sound of feet into one of the private rooms and positioned himself in a far corner.

There was a murmured spell and Madam Pomfrey came into view, followed by Remus, looking worse than James had ever seen him. The boy's face was taught and there were dark circles under his eyes. He was dressed in cotton hospital pajamas, but the top was open to reveal several cuts on his chest, some already healing. There was red liquid smeared around Remus's mouth and on his hands, which James realized with horror was Remus's own blood.

"Was it a bad month?" Pomfrey asked Remus as she cast cleaning charms.

There was some ragged breathing followed by, "Yes. We studied werewolves in Defense."

Pomfrey hissed in a breath. She spoke as she bandaged Remus's chest, arms, and legs, the hospital top banished, "I am going to give that man a piece of my mind. The nerve of him..."

Remus smiled wryly, "He couldn't avoid the topic. That would have been painfully obvious."

Several potions were poured down Remus's throat and Madam Pomfrey smoothed his hair back before leaving the room, ordering the boy to get some sleep. Remus sank into his pillows and slowly turned his head towards the corner where James was standing. James flinched before remembering he was wearing the invisibility cloak. Remus's eyes were almost purely amber James noticed. They actually changed color frequently.

"Take off the cloak James."

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	10. 9: Confrontations

**Chapter Nine: Confrontations**

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"I could smell you before we got to the hospital wing James, and I can hear you breathing in that corner," Remus said, almost too tired and worn to speak. It had been a particularly rough full moon. He had been on edge ever since the Defense class on werewolves and the anxiety stayed with him in the Shack. There was a deep gash, his worst yet, stretching down the left side of his ribcage, nearly revealing the bone itself.

James let his cloak drop to the floor. The usually energetic boy looked as tired as Remus felt, his eyes puffy and reddened. He stepped forward hesitantly, "Remus? Remy?"

Remus suspected James was on the edge of some severe emotion. He breathed in deeply and was surprised when he couldn't smell any fear in the air.

"You... you're not afraid," Remus was shocked, almost forgetting the scrapes and gashes.

James shook his head and took the remaining steps forward to the seat by Remus's bed, "Are you..."

"A werewolf?" Remus finished for James and gave his friend a sad smile. "I can't really deny it now, can I?"

James shook his head again, "Are you okay?"

Remus blinked, once again surprised, "I'll be much better tomorrow."

Outside the door Madam Pomfrey smiled. She had been bringing a sleeping potion back to Remus, in case the pain from his side kept him awake. When she heard Remus speak she listened carefully, ready to burst in at any moment and berate, and then memory charm, whoever was upsetting him. When her services were unnecessary she turned back to her office and resolved to bring Remus the potion once the Potter boy was gone.

"Sirius and Peter?" Remus asked with just a hint of fear.

"I didn't say anything in case I was wrong," James was examining the floor tiles. When he looked up there were tears in his eyes, "I wanted to be wrong Remus. I spent all night wondering what to say or even _if_ I should say anything. Who knows?"

"Most of the staff, my family, and you," Remus answered. He shifted and all his muscles tightened against the pain. He clenched his jaw and shut his eyes. He heard James jump to his feet and felt a shaky hand on his forehead.

"Remy?" James's voice was as shaky as his hand. "Should I get Pomfrey? Remy?"

Remus summoned all his will power and shook his head. He already had a few pain potions in him. He had to wait at least six hours before taking more. It took a few minutes for the pain to recede to a tolerable level and all the while James was trying to soothe him, talking softly about random things and brushing his hair back from his forehead. Remus felt a tear slip out from the tenderness his friend was showing him.

"You're not afraid," Remus said again in awe. "You must be insane."

"My mum tells me _that_ at least three times a week," James laughed away some of the remaining tension in the room. He looked at Remus curiously, "How old were you?"

"Four. It was eight years on September tenth," Remus replied in a faraway voice. He still remembered that night as though it was only days ago. James's eyes widened. "I used to love the moon."

"I was scared at first," James admitted. He paused as if to think through what he would say next. When he spoke again it was with conviction, "You're Remus, our Remy. If you were going to hurt anyone it would be Sirius's cousins, or maybe Malfoy or Snape, but not me or Siri or Peter."

Remus couldn't hold back the tears from falling at that. James understood. He might not know exactly why Remus couldn't hurt his friends, but he knew. James leaned back in his chair and Remus could sense how tired he was. The dark haired boy may have gotten some sleep but not good sleep or nearly enough. He could smell some other tension in his friend.

"What's wrong James?" Remus asked a little sleepily. He could force himself to stay awake just a little longer.

James's eyes blinked and opened wide, "What do you mean?"

Remus let his mouth stretch into a wide lazy grin, "I knew you weren't afraid because there was no fear in the air. Something else is upsetting you... I can smell it. Your scent is a little different somehow," Remus had never discussed his enhanced senses with anyone before but he was too lost in examining the smell to worry about that. "There's you, but mixed with someone else and..." The reason clicked in Remus's head and he almost choked. They were only twelve years old! He opened his eyes and saw that James looked miserable in his chair. He cocked his head to the side and almost swore at the pain it caused. "Did someone force you James?"

"No!" James gasped out. "I was a bit surprised at first, the first time, I mean, but then it was good, and now it's really good, and I never said no, I never _wanted_ to say no."

"Then why are you upset?" Remus asked, not sure why James was talking to him about this. He needed his head to clear. James was one of the only people he knew who could talk in a run-on sentence and it could be confusing when Remus was at his best.

"I..." James paused. "I'm twelve years old Remus. Am I too young?"

"I don't know. Do you _feel_ too young?"

"Sometimes I do, but then I don't," James brought his feet up onto the chair and rested his chin on his knees. "Would you?"

Remus felt his chest constrict, "Even if I would, I can't."

"Huh?"

"Read my essay," Remus smiled wolfishly. "Sirius is the only one who can't. He could have asked you long ago to read them for him, but don't tell him." James laughed and nodded agreement. "If you enjoy it, and you're happy with your choice, and you still like who you are, then you're doing okay James."

Remus started to drift off. A hand gave his head one last stroke and he heard James on his way out, "Thanks Remy. I'll see you later."

Once again Remus convinced Madam Pomfrey to let him go early. If he had to tell Sirius and Peter he wanted to get it over with. She was easier to convince this month for some reason and gave Remus an extra dose of pain relief potion and Pepper-Up to take with him even though it was against the rules to have his own potions. It was almost curfew as he made his way through the empty corridors to Gryffindor Tower. The Fat Lady, the portrait who guarded the entrance to the common room, greeted him with a smile and let him in.

Remus took a deep breath as he stepped into the common room. It was crowded with students working on homework assignments, playing chess, Exploding Snap, Gobstones, or just talking. James, Sirius, and Peter were sitting in the corner at a round table that the four of them had claimed the previous year. Remus smiled when he recognized the book they were all hunched over as one of the books Mr. Potter had given James.

"Hey guys," Remus said quietly. All three of them looked up and smiled and Remus and James exchanged a look. Remus tried to convey his desperation to get this over with, "I'm still pretty tired. I'm heading upstairs."

"We'll join you," James jumped up and closed the book in one motion.

Sirius and Peter both looked confused but followed the other two up the five flights of stairs to their dorm. To Remus each winding step was more difficult to climb than the previous. No matter how many trips he had taken to his dorm before, it seemed like this one was at least twice as long as any other.

Once inside their room Sirius and Peter looked to James for an explanation. James was the default leader of the group, the most popular with the rest of the Gryffindors and the other houses, the most outgoing, the one who had the most ideas. Remus found that James often deferred to him though, that he had a strange kind of veto power.

Remus knew that that night James was waiting for him to take the lead, and Remus was decidedly uncomfortable doing so. He knew he could not just come out and say what needed to be said so he decided on action instead of words. His robes were lifted over his head and neatly folded before returning to his trunk. The wince from stretching and pulling at the not completely healed gash was hidden by the robes over his face. His undershirt was the next to go, revealing the large white gauze bandage covering his left side from armpit to waist.

"Remus!" Sirius exclaimed as Remus knew he would. "If my lousy, good-for-nothing cousins..."

Remus cut off the threat by turning to face Sirius and holding up a hand. Peter looked a little ill.

"No one hurt me Sirius," Remus said in a low voice, much steadier than he thought it would be. "I...," Remus had a hard time admitting it. He always separated the wolf, thought of it as a different being, not a part of himself, not him. "I did it."

Peter looked at James with a little fear in his face and James hardly noticed. He was too busy watching Remus struggle with his personal demons. Sirius stepped towards Remus, and James could see the beginning of the same panicked reaction from the previous year, only now he understood. When Remus was threatened the wolf inside dominated. If Sirius kept going Remus would act like a wounded, cornered, wild animal. James stepped in between them, his back to Remus. He put a hand on Sirius's chest.

"Let him explain first," James urged.

"You know," Sirius looked a little hurt and James felt a twinge of guilt but knew he had no other choice. He had been caught between loyalty to Remus and to Sirius and Peter.

James looked Sirius in the eye, "I guessed last night, but I had to be sure."

Sirius gulped and nodded. They could both feel the tension in the room and James wondered for a moment how strong it must feel for Remus if James could sense it. Peter had been watching the exchange between James and Sirius and wringing his hands. He did not like confrontations, had always shrunk away from them, left them to others.

James had given Remus a chance to get himself under control, to calm down and gather his thoughts. None of his friends, his pack he reminded himself, were watching him when he started talking, head down, "I was four years old and I loved the stars and the moon, everything about the night sky. My maman and dad used to tell me stories about the constellations, the myths behind the shapes in the sky. Sometimes I would sit outside and make my own stories, find my own shapes in the stars. My dad loved to hear my stories.

"My parents were out that night and had left me with a cousin, Deirdre I think," Remus looked up and saw that his friends were staring at him, paying more attention than they ever had to any teacher. They were transfixed by the sound of his voice, by the pain that came from someplace deep in Remus's soul. "I hid from my cousins all the time when they were in charge. They knew I would come out eventually and I never caused a lot of trouble or got hurt. I was in the backyard when my parents got home. My father saved me, but he was still too late. I almost lost half my arm," Remus held up his right arm to show the tooth marks on his forearm that had distorted as Remus grew, "and I still almost died. It was a full moon, and I was infected."

Remus flinched as Sirius approached him but didn't have time to fend the other boy off before he was wrapped in a crushing hug. He fought down the need to struggle, to escape and was left bewildered at the reaction.

"Is that all? I thought you were dying!" Sirius said in an almost accusing tone.

When Sirius let go Remus took a step back, "I'm not sure you understand..."

"You turn into a wolf once a month," Sirius grinned and returned to his usual cheerful self. "My whole family is dark remember? I know dark when I meet it and you're not dark. Actually it's kind of cool."

Remus blinked in astonishment. Never in a thousand years had he thought anyone would react like that. He didn't see anything cool about it. Still shocked he turned to Peter and saw the reaction he had expected from all three of his friends. Peter was scared, frightened so much all the color had drained from his face and he was shaking. It was still close enough to the full moon that Remus could smell the fear practically pouring off the boy. His heart dropped and he looked down at the floor. There were sounds of scuffling and Remus felt two people rush past him and out the door.

With a large lump in his throat Remus crossed to his shelf and started pulling down his books. He opened his trunk and set them neatly inside. He went to his nightstand and picked up the small lion figurine. It sat down on his hand and flicked its tail. He was stopped on his way back to his trunk and he lifted his head to see Sirius standing in his path with his arms crossed on his chest.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sirius demanded.

"Packing," Remus almost choked on his words but spoke calmly. "I always knew this might happen. My dad was right. I shouldn't have come here."

"Well you can stop right now. I'm not letting you leave, and neither will James," Sirius took the books out of the trunk and started putting them back on the shelf in entirely the wrong order.

"Don't you see?" Remus almost cried. He was moments away from tears as it was. "Peter won't want to sleep in the same room as me and I don't blame him! I'm dangerous Sirius!"

"So am I!" Sirius responded. "You know my mother insisted I study the dark arts last summer and it will only get worse. My cousins and Snape and Malfoy and a dozen other Slytherins at least know more than ten curses that can kill just as easily as Avada Kedavra and because of my mum so do I." Remus was worn out. He couldn't argue anymore, couldn't fight, couldn't explain which way was up if he had to. He collapsed on his bed with his trousers still on and curled around a pillow like a lifeline, ignoring the pain from his side. "Don't worry about Peter Remus. He'll come around."

Remus didn't respond. He heard Sirius close his curtains and he succumbed to a most welcome sleep.

He didn't know what happened, and he wasn't sure he wanted to, but Remus's secret went no further than the Marauders. Peter avoided him as much as possible and shot fearful glances at him whenever they were forced into the same company. Remus decided to spend more time on his own. He was not willing to rob Peter of his friends by forcing him to choose between them and his fear. Sirius and James figured out his plan, though, and they alternated, one of them with Remus and the other with Peter, not letting either of them be alone.

Two weeks later there was no improvement. Remus had left Lily to tutor Peter on her own and was sitting in a corner of the common room, trying to hide in the shadows. James and Sirius were playing Exploding Snap on the same table Remus was working at. Every now and then Remus would pick up his parchment to protect it from the burning embers of exploded cards. Across the room Peter was trying to get the charm they were working on in class and Lily was looking frustrated.

Remus watched them and Lily made eye contact with him, pleading that he come over and help her. Remus just shook his head sadly. Lily looked at Peter, who had noticed the exchange and started shaking again, then looked back at Remus who was sure his face showed guilt and pain. It was no secret that Remus and Peter weren't getting along. There were actually very few secrets in the tower with how close everyone lived and how poorly most Gryffindors lied. Her face took on a determined expression and Remus felt all the color drain from his face. He knew that Peter would cave under her questioning.

James must have seen Remus's expression because he stood and shot a silencing charm at Peter before anyone could stop him. Sirius and James crossed the room quickly and picked up a wide-eyed Peter, each grasping him under an arm. A prefect yelled at them but they ignored her.

"Really James," Lily tried to be a voice of reason, "I hardly think that was necessary. I was only trying to help."

"No offence Lily," James said coldly, "but this is none of your business."

Sirius and James dragged a kicking Peter up to their room while Sirius berated Peter, "This has gone on long enough Peter. We're going to talk some sense into you if it takes all day."

The other Gryffindor second year girls, who had been working not far from Lily and Peter, followed Lily over to Remus's corner and they took up the seats Sirius and James had abandoned. The looks they directed at Remus were a mixture of pity, curiosity, and accusation. While Remus was well liked in Gryffindor, Peter was as well. The girls had a tendency to mother him and look after him. In an argument between the two there was no telling which side they would take.

"What is going on with you four?" Bea asked, brushing a few errant strands of hair out of her face.

"It's nothing," Remus replied quickly, wishing that either Sirius or James had stayed behind.

"It is clearly _not_ nothing!" Lily snapped. "Peter is afraid of something and now those two...," Lily made a sound of frustration and irritation. "I was only trying to help! What right do they have to interfere? They think they're so... so..."

"Smart? Cute? Special? Above the rules?" Yvonne offered with a smile.

"All of the above," Lily crumpled up the piece of parchment James and Sirius had been using to keep score. Remus was surprised. He had been so wrapped up in everything going on within his own small little group that he hadn't noticed the animosity that the girls, or Lily at least, had developed towards James and Sirius. He decided he had to get out of there before the girls remembered the original topic and ganged up on him. He headed towards the door, shrugging off Alice's gentle restraining hand.

"Remus Lupin!" Bea scolded. "You get back here. We're not done with you yet!"

Remus ignored them and left the common room. He wandered the corridors while a storm raged outside, avoiding other students when he could. Unfortunately he could not avoid everyone and he bumped into Lucius Malfoy on the third floor corridor, west wing, where there were no classrooms in use that term.

"Lupin," Malfoy drawled, "traveling without your friends for once?"

Remus was cautious at Malfoy's almost friendly tone. The blond Slytherin normally sneered at and taunted any Gryffindor that had the misfortune of crossing his path.

"I can take care of myself Malfoy," Remus looked the other boy in the eye. He had grown over the summer but he was not as tall as Malfoy yet.

"I know that," Malfoy was standing just close enough to make Remus uncomfortable and Remus took a step back. "I've been watching you Lupin. I've been watching all of you. The Blacks may not need you for anything anymore, but I have not given up. Your talents would be appreciated in certain circles."

Remus was tempted to just let go, to let the wolf take control and take out his frustrations on the arrogant blond, but that was the path to Azkaban... or extermination, "I don't care what you say Malfoy. It's no secret what you're trying to do and it won't work."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that Lupin," Malfoy said slowly. "I can be very... persuasive if I have to be."

"And I can be very stubborn," Remus said with much more certainty than he actually felt. "I have nothing to offer you."

"But I think you do," Malfoy leaned in too close and whispered, "and I intend to find out just what it is you're hiding."

Remus had forgotten all about Peter by then and suppressed a shiver as Malfoy walked confidently away. If Malfoy was powerful enough he could have felt Remus's anger the previous year. He was not looking forward to telling his father though he knew he had to. They had not been expecting this yet and had hoped the war would be over before Remus graduated. A hand on his shoulder startled Remus out of his reflection.

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After an hour of reminding Peter of all the good things Remus had done for him, from finding a lost sock to making sure Peter learned what he needed to pass his exams with surprisingly good grades, Sirius went downstairs to check on Remus. When he got to the common room he saw that Remus wasn't there and he was instantly worried.

"Where did Remus go?" Sirius demanded of the second year girls.

Lily looked up and Sirius thought he could see a bit of guilt, which she hid behind an irritated voice, "He left not long after you and James manhandled Peter up to your room."

Sirius clenched his teeth. They shouldn't have left Remus alone and upset like that. He ran out of the common room and started asking anyone he came across if they had seen Remus.

"Have you...," Sirius noticed who he was talking to and narrowed his eyes, "oh, hi Bella."

Bellatrix Black looked at her cousin as though he was something slimy that had been crawling on her arm. Her expression quickly changed to one of pure malice. She grabbed Sirius's arm and pushed him into an alcove, leaning in close to hiss at him, "You may have fooled your mother, Sirius, but I know you're up to something. Don't even think of trying to pull your 'proper Black son' act around me."

Sirius pushed her away from him, stepped back into the corridor, and dusted off his robes, "I have no idea what you're talking about, _cousin_," he spat. "Whatever you are thinking in that rubbish bin you call a brain, is no doubt more ridiculous than Dumbledore's favorite pajamas. If you'll excuse me I am looking for a friend, a concept you must struggle to understand."

"I'll be watching you little boy," she laughed at him. "When you mess up I'll be sure to let Mummy Dearest know."

Sirius walked away from her, cursing under his breath, and continued his search for Remus. He eventually found him staring down an empty corridor, lost in his thoughts.

"Remy," Sirius cautiously touched Remus's shoulder, "you okay?"

"Hm?" Remus turned quickly and batted Sirius's hand away, then recognized his friend. It was the first time Sirius had managed to sneak up on Remus, though now he understood why a little better. "I'm fine."

Sirius smiled, determined to cheer Remus up, "Excellent! Peter was wavering when I left to find you. I bet James has talked him around by now. Let's swing by the kitchens and finish the job with some food."

That actually got a laugh out of Remus, "You just want food yourself, pig. Don't bother making up excuses. We all know you'd move into the kitchens with the house elves if you were allowed."

"So we'll go?" Sirius bounced up and down while holding onto Remus's arm.

Remus rolled his eyes, "Of course we will. We already missed lunch anyway."

"I missed a meal?" Sirius stopped bouncing, looking horrified.

Remus looked around carefully then leaned in towards Sirius and said in an undertone, "You don't care that I'm a werewolf but you look like the world is ending when you miss lunch?"

"As you can see my priorities are well in place." Sirius mussed up Remus's hair, "Aw, you know you love me." He took off running and Remus immediately followed. "I'll beat you to the kitchens!" Sirius called over his shoulder.

"Like hell you will!" Remus increased his speed and made sure to run faster than Sirius, but not too fast, and still beat him in their race.

There was still tension between the Marauders for the short time before the winter holiday began. As the train was boarding Peter gave Remus a rushed apology and said good-bye before hurrying away to catch the train.

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	11. 10: Accepting and Hexing

**Chapter Ten: Accepting and Hexing**

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Before even opening their presents on Christmas morning, or eating a scrap of food, Sirius and James ran to the hospital wing. Dawn had come only an hour before and the boys waited anxiously for Madam Pomfrey to open the door to the wing after knocking loudly for a full minute.

She opened the door and Sirius and James fell into the room. Sirius looked up at Madam Pomfrey and scowled, "We could have been seriously injured!"

The matron raised her eyebrows, "Knowing you two I would not be surprised, but I have my ways. Now, why have you woken me up?"

"Merry Christmas!" James stated loudly with a wide grin and handed Madam Pomfrey a large bar of Honeydukes chocolate, which was accepted with an amused look. "We came to see if you would let Remus open his presents in Gryffindor Tower with us. Please?" He gave her the pleading expression that always worked on his mother.

Madam Pomfrey smiled indulgently, "I have treated hundreds of boys James Potter. That look will get you nowhere with me. This chocolate however is a much more powerful persuasive tool. Mr. Lupin is visiting his mother and therefore I have no power over whether he returns to you this morning, this afternoon, or next week. Now, head back to your gifts!"

"We know he's here," Sirius rolled his eyes. He quickly checked to make sure the hospital was empty and theatrically whispered his next words. "We know he's a werewolf and he's recovering from his transformation."

The hospital matron raised her eyes at the melodrama she knew to expect from these boys, but spoke to them sternly, "If you know that much, then you know you are not to discuss that information with anyone."

"Yes Madam," James and Sirius sang together and smiled, looking hopeful.

"Remus will wake up in an hour or so. If you can restrain yourselves that long I will let him join you," she smiled at the pathetic looks both boys were trying to persuade her with. "That is my final word, now go, scoot!"

Remus started laughing when he entered the second year boys' room on Christmas morning. James and Sirius were playing cards, but not really paying much attention to their game. Both of them frequently looked up at the piles of gifts that remained unopened. When they saw Remus they jumped to their feet and the cards exploded.

"Merry Christmas!" they yelled together while making sure their clothes weren't on fire.

Remus just kept laughing until Sirius hit him with his ice water hex. Remus smiled evilly and brandished his wand, causing Sirius to hide behind James.

"Who's afraid of the big bad wolf, the big bad wolf, the big bad wolf," James sang, teasing Sirius and Remus both at once. "Who's afraid of the big bad wolf..."

Remus blinked and lowered his wand, still astonished that his friends weren't afraid. They were even _teasing_ him. Sirius got indignant and forgot he was hiding from Remus when he tackled James, Christmas presents forgotten, "I am not!"

ooOOoo

"What subjects are you signing up for?" James asked Remus over dinner the night before the holiday ended. The three Marauders who had stayed for the holiday had started the Official Marauder Journal in which they recorded every prank they could remember having played, complete with any photographs they had. They made a section for planning, and wrote up the Marauder Code of Conduct, which was posted in their room and copied for each of them. It was charmed to look like a caricature Sirius drew of Professor Ayre wearing a grass skirt and coconut bra for anyone who didn't already know what was on the parchment. They planned on having some fun with Peter with that one.

"Definitely Arithmancy," Remus smiled. He had been reading his dad's Hogwarts books since he could read. It had taken a while before he could understand the Arithmancy but he had been determined and eventually succeeded. After all, it was magic that could be done without a wand. This past summer he had told his father about his self directed studying and saw the pride in his eyes as they had something in common to talk about. "I'm not sure what else. Can't do Magical Creatures, don't need Muggle Studies, and Divination is ridiculous as I'm not a seer, so I guess Ancient Runes."

"It's Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes for me," Sirius declared as he stood up to reach for a piece of apple pie. "I'd take Muggle Studies but Mother would strangle me, probably the same for Divination."

There was no one sitting anywhere near them, leaving them a bit more freedom than usual in their conversations. More students had stayed that winter than the previous, so the great hall stayed in its normal configuration of house tables and the head table for the professors. James was making a sculpture with his mashed potatoes that looked an awful lot like Dumbledore, what with the long beard and pointed hat.

"I can't decide between Arithmancy and Ancient Runes," James said as he scooped out the top of the mashed potato Dumbledore's head and ate it. "I'm taking Care of Magical Creatures. Dad said it's dead useful for Aurors."

"You're going to apply for Auror training?" Remus asked the dark-haired boy with a touch of apprehension. It still unnerved him a bit, no matter what he told his father, that his best friend's father was a senior Auror.

James grinned, "No doubt about it. That's yet another Potter family tradition. The very first Aurors were Potters. At least one Potter in every generation is in the corps. There's always an Auror Potter, and usually more than one."

"James," Remus started, "you know you can't tell your dad... about me I mean."

James was surprised. He had never kept any major secrets from his father before and it never occurred to him that he might have to some day. There were things he didn't bother telling him, but something that big...

"James," Sirius whispered harshly in his ear, "your dad could put Remus in Azkaban with no reason whatsoever. If he thinks you're in danger by being friends with Remus... well... what do you think he would do?"

James blinked. His dad was fiercely protective of his only child, despite his normal carefree attitude. If he knew James was best friends with a werewolf it might get ugly. He clenched his jaw, "I won't tell him Remus. You're going to graduate from Hogwarts, You-Know-Who will be defeated, and all the Marauders will be friends forever." He dispelled his sour mood and smiled, "I guess I'll take Ancient Runes with you Siri. It can be good with breaking old curses and stuff."

"You could always take both, you know," Remus commented, now accustomed to the rapidly changing moods of James Potter and Sirius Black. Whenever things got dark or serious for too long they put on a smile and played a joke, or did something else to make everyone around them laugh.

"Me, take more classes than required?" James looked affronted. "What do you take me for, sir, a Ravenclaw?"

Remus leaned forward and put on a small smile, as if he knew some grand secret, "I know you usually finish your work early James Aaron Potter, sometimes even before I do. Your anti-academic facade doesn't fool me."

James leapt to his feet, "You take that back Remus Jacques Lupin! I'll have you know..."

"Is there a problem here, gentlemen?" Professor McGonagall said from behind James, causing him to jump in surprise.

He quickly recovered and pointed an accusing finger at Remus, the other hand on his chest, hitting his sternum to accentuate his words, "He accused me of studying voluntarily! Me! Me studying!"

Remus was snickering at James's antics with their Head of House, who looked like she was having a difficult time not laughing herself.

"I assure you Mr. Potter," McGonagall said in her customary stern tone, though more quiet as if imparting sensitive information. "Your secret is safe with me."

She walked back up to the staff table smiling ever so slightly, leaving James staring at her with his jaw hanging and eyes wide open.

"Careful there James," Sirius teased with a glint in his eye, "next thing you know you'll be a prefect."

"Will not!" James recovered and grinned.

"Will too!"

"No way!" James insisted. "Remy's our Junior Prefect."

"Don't bring me into this," Remus groaned and dropped his head onto the table. James and Sirius were likely to argue back and forth for hours, or until someone got hexed and couldn't speak anymore.

"Aw, is ickle Remy-kins embawassed?" James teased. The grins he and Sirius were displaying meant a long night for Remus.

"Okay, that's it," Remus stood and took out his wand before James and Sirius could register what he was doing. _Silencio! Silencio!_

James and Sirius stared at each other, their mouths moving but no sound coming out. They looked at Remus with identical shock written across their faces and then glared at the smirk on his face.

"Mr. Lupin," Professor Fenwick called from the head table, "you do understand that there is no dueling allowed in the great hall?"

Remus carefully tucked his wand away, not at all trying to hide the movement, and smiled at the professors. He stood and addressed the entire hall, all of whom were watching, "Of course sir. I would never think of dueling during a meal. Seeing as it is the last meal of the holiday I thought we all might enjoy some peace and quiet, which obviously cannot be achieved when these two are capable of speech."

Several of the students in the hall were laughing halfway through Remus's explanation, as were a few of the professors though they did their best to hide it. James would have congratulated Remus had he not been the victim, and if he could talk, _Damn! He performs the spells, and fifth year spells at that, in front of the whole staff and can still look perfectly innocent!_

"Be that as it may Mr. Lupin," Professor Fenwick continued to look disapproving, "five points from Gryffindor for performing magic in the great hall during a meal." There was a brief pause as the professor seemed to be considering something further, during which Remus's angelic expression did not change a bit, "Ten points to Gryffindor for the thoughtful and well executed Christmas gift."

The staff went back to talking amongst themselves and the Gryffindors who had stayed for the holiday all cheered. Every other student in the hall was laughing, whether at the misfortune of James and Sirius or the professors' reactions.

"It was bound to happen someday," Remus commented as he sat down and continued his meal as though nothing had happened.

James just banged his fist on the table to get Remus's attention. When Remus looked up he pointed at his mouth and tried his best to communicate telepathically. Remus grinned and went back to his food and ignored whichever one of them kicked him under the table.

"Was there something you wanted to say James? Neither of you want this last piece of pie do you?" Remus was having a bit too much fun at his friends' expense. He would pay for it later, but in the meantime... He held the plate high up and ignored Sirius reaching for it. "No? Just speak up if you do. I guess I'll eat it then."

Remus was thoroughly enjoying the silence and was almost sorry the meal was over. He'd have to reverse the charm eventually, and then he'd be subjected to revenge Marauder style. He ignored James and Sirius fingering their wands and glaring at him while he whistled a tune on the way back to the tower.

"No running in the halls Mr. Lupin," McGonagall's voice called as they passed her classroom.

All three boys stopped and looked at her confusion, revenge and silence forgotten in the odd moment, "But Ma'am, I wasn't..."

"I though it only appropriate to remind you Mr. Lupin," the Transfiguration Professor had a sneaky look in her eye. "I am about to turn my back on you and return your comrades to their customary deafening volume."

Remus struggled to hold back his laugh but didn't succeed. Sometimes McGonagall was much more fun than her reputation purported. The instant she turned Remus took off, knowing there wasn't a chance James and Sirius would catch him until they got back to the Tower, where he would be ready for them.

"How did he get back here so fast?" Sirius demanded as they threw open the door to their dorm room and dodged a fresh silencing charm.

James dove into the room while Sirius shot curses in, not really aiming at anything, "I don't know!"

"Neither of you ever pay attention in class, do you?" Remus asked from behind Peter's bed. He saw Sirius enter and spelled the door shut and locked, with a silencing charm for added measure. "I can smell better, see better, hear better, run faster, and I'm a hell of lot stronger than either of you!"

"No fair!" Sirius protested, using the logic known to three year olds all over the world. "You're going down werewolf! That was my pie damn you!"

For perhaps the twentieth time, and certainly not the last, the Marauders' room became a battlefield of hexes and curses. At first, James and Sirius were teamed up against Remus, but when Remus ducked a hex sent by Sirius that ricocheted and hit James it became every wizard for himself. The reason for revenge was lost as bed hangings were scorched, pillows exploded in clouds of feathers, and the three twelve year olds sprouted horns, changed colors, got covered in boils, danced around on jelly legs, and found various body parts paralyzed.

"It's a good thing," Remus lay on the floor on his back panting, "the house elves like us... and like doing their job."

James was sprawled across Peter's mattress, long ago divested of blankets and sheets and with stuffing peeking out of a tear or two, surveying the damage to their room, "How many times have we needed new hangings?"

"I think this is only the fifth," Sirius called from beneath a mountain of feathers. There was the sound of spitting, "Stupid feathers."

"Sixth time," Remus corrected, "but the third time already this year."

Sirius sat up and pulled feathers out his mouth, "I forgot about that cauldron we exploded."

Remus raised himself on his elbows and held his wand out, _Tempus!_ Red numbers lit up in front of him and he yawned, "Bedtime."

"Uh guys?" James said in a tone that Remus did not like. It was the one always used right before they got into big trouble. Detention had already become too common an occurrence as far as Remus was concerned, though he was the only one of them to have avoided the headmaster's office.

"What now?" Remus flopped back down, his head luckily hitting a pile of someone's bed linens, possible with some clothes from an upset trunk underneath.

"We only have one bed intact," James informed them.

Remus sat up again and looked around. It was true. The only bed fit to sleep in without a lot of work was Siri's, and they were all exhausted after countering various hexes. James's bed was even missing a leg. Any cleaning would mostly fall on Remus's shoulders as well.

The three boys looked at each other warily for a moment and one by one they all shrugged. Sirius smiled, "It's a good thing none of us sleep au natural."

Laughter eased whatever tension remained and they all changed into pajamas, too tired for showers despite the number of hexes they had been subjected to. The all climbed into Sirius's bed and didn't bother to shut the curtains.

Thud. "What happened in here?"

Remus blinked his eyes and wondered why there was a weight across his chest. He looked down and saw two dark heads of hair, one on his shoulder and the other on his stomach. Peter was standing in the doorway with Lily and Bea, who were giggling like mad.

"I silenced them," Remus said in way of explanation and then added after a pause, "during dinner in the great hall."

Peter laughed and jumped onto the bed, waking James in the process... who saw he had been snuggling up to Remus and blushed bright red. Sirius just rolled over and hugged a pillow to his chest, "Five more minutes."

"Erm, hey Lily, Bea," James stammered. Remus raised his eyebrows at Peter. James never got embarrassed around girls before.

Bea giggled again and Lily ignored James, "Thank you for the Christmas presents Remus." The girls turned and went back down the stairs, presumably headed to their own room.

"So is it Lily or Beatrice?" Remus poked James.

"Huh?" James's blush faded and he turned back to Remus.

"You have a crush on one of them," Remus grinned.

"Do not!" James protested and the blush returned.

Peter joined in, "You were stammering."

"Was not!"

"Were too!" Sirius turned back over and smacked James with the pillow he was holding.

"You're dead Black!" James grabbed the pillow and swung, hitting Peter instead of Sirius. Whatever pillows hadn't been destroyed the night before were broken open in another flurry of feathers in the subsequent pillow fight.

"This might take the elves a while," Peter examined the room after they had run out of pillows.

"Nah," James said with a grin. "They just snap their fingers and it all goes back to how it was."

"Damn," Sirius pouted. "I was hoping for a new pillow. Mine was lumpy."

Remus dug through the debris, looking for something to wear. It was lucky they had no classes that day, as none of the clothing in the room was suitable. At least one professor would have been sure to take away points for inappropriate uniform. He eventually found a pair of trousers and a shirt that smelled like they were his and pulled them on, spelling them clean and unwrinkled just in case.

"How long did it take?" Peter asked, searching for some belonging that was probably buried under a mound of trampled cloth.

"Two hours?" James said uncertainly. "A new record I think for near complete destruction."

"Hey Remy," Sirius asked as he hopped into a pair of wrinkled trousers after sniffing them cautiously. "Can you really smell better than us and all that stuff?"

"Did you even do your essay for Fenwick?" Remus asked teasingly.

Sirius buttoned the trousers and put his hands on his hips. "I'll have you know I did write my essay, and I got an EE thank you very much, but it was the legal stuff question."

"Well of course he can," Peter answered, "but his senses are strongest around the full moon, right Remus?"

Remus grinned, feeling his heart leap. Peter had gotten over whatever it was and accepted him. He nodded and Peter beamed, glad to have known something Sirius didn't.

"C'mon," James whined from the doorway, "I don't want to miss lunch."

"Lunch?" Sirius looked horrified. "What about breakfast?"

"We slept through it idiot," Remus cuffed the back of his head.

Sirius scrambled to find a shirt and ran out after James. Remus followed and Peter threw down his bag, yelling for them to wait.

"Aw, we don't want Petey to get lost!" James teased as he dodged returning students in the common room.

Sirius laughed, "You should have Remy draw you a map Petey!"

"I know how to get to the great hall!" Peter defended himself.

Remus tugged on the pudgy boy's arm while James answered, "Sure you do Petey, sure you do."

"Stop calling me Petey Jamiekins!"

"Make me Petey!" James turned and faced Peter for the challenge.

Peter ran past Remus as fast as he could and James took off. Sirius laughed after them and threw an arm across Remus's shoulders. They took their time and passed Peter and James being scolded by Caretaker Pringle for running in the halls and receiving detention for the next night.

Everything was back to normal.

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	12. 11: Plans and Preparations

**Chapter Eleven: Plans and Preparations**

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It had started as a joke, but the more Remus worked on it the less of a joke, and more of a serious extremely long-term research intensive project it became. He was drawing a map of Hogwarts to present to Peter as a birthday present the next fall. It was kind of funny that Peter was the oldest Marauder.

Remus had several pieces of parchment spell-o-taped together as the map got bigger and bigger. Each piece had a different floor of the castle, and there were several floors. Remus had his creation, which had become a mild obsession, on one of the back tables in the library. He was looking for a spell so he could somehow layer the map. It was getting way too big.

"What are you working on?" James sat in the seat next to Remus with so much force that he almost tipped both of them over. James never just sat down. He plopped, collapsed, threw himself onto various pieces of furniture, and bounced but never sat like any normal human being. He also adjusted his position into a new feat of contortionism every few minutes.

"You see... I was thinking... if I charmed a map of Hogwarts...," Remus replied, chewing on the end of his quill. He had, to his utter disgust, picked up the habit from Sirius. He needed to get some Sugar Quills.

James whistled softly as he inspected the parchment, "We were just kidding you know."

Remus chuckled, "Yeah I know. It was going to be a good joke gift, but as you can see it got a bit out of hand."

Sirius and Peter came into the library, probably looking for Remus and James. James stood and waved them over with an exaggerated gesture that nearly poked out Remus's eye.

"Check this out," James flattened out Remus's work in progress.

"Is this all from memory?" Sirius asked, scanning the parchment with wide eyes.

Remus nodded, "It's not to scale... or organized very well... and there are hallways and rooms missing... and nothing is labeled... and the staircases really move but I have them fixed 'cause I don't know how to charm it to move them on the parchment when they move in the castle... and..."

James's hand covered Remus's mouth and he grinned, "I think Siri just wanted a yes or no."

Remus blushed as his three friends chuckled at him. All three of them were inspecting the map closely and pointing out things they recognized every now and then, like the kitchens or the great hall.

"What are you four up to?" Yvonne's voice startled them all. The four second year Gryffindor girls were trying to see what the boys were leaning over on the table.

James and Sirius immediately jumped up and blocked the map from view, answering her together in seemingly innocent voices, "Nothing."

Lily rolled her eyes, "Like we'd believe that. It's never _nothing_ with you."

James blushed and Remus and Peter exchanged a grin. _It's Lily,_ Remus mouthed and Peter nodded. Remus started folding up the map as discreetly as possible.

"Why Lily dearest," Sirius said in his most charming voice. "We're never up to anything in our sleep."

"That's why three of you were sleeping in the same bed?" Bea teased.

All four boys tried to explain at once, their words lost in the jumble as the girls all laughed and walked away. Students from other tables had heard and were looking at the Marauders with curiosity and amusement.

"They're dead," Sirius said once the girls were out of hearing range and the boys all stopped talking.

"So dead," James added, his cheeks still a bit pink.

Peter was excited at the prospect. All their pranks had been aimed at one another lately and he was on the receiving end far too often in his opinion, "We're pranking the girls?"

Remus started thinking, "We can't get into their dorm. No one will take any food we give them. Just hexing them is a cop out. This is going to be tough, a challenge."

"In the meantime Remy," Sirius interrupted the gears turning in Remus's head, "we can't let anyone else see that map. The professors would definitely not like it if they saw it."

"You can spell it like you do your homework!" Peter recommended.

Sirius pouted, "I still don't see why you won't let me copy!"

"If I let you copy you would never learn anything and then when we take our O.W.L.s you would fail and have to live with your mother for the rest of your life," Sirius started to turn green at the thought. Remus smiled and ruffled Sirius's hair, "See? I have your best interest at heart."

While Sirius flattened his hair and pouted James was flipping through one of the charms books Remus had out, "There's a spell in here somewhere to password protect parchment. Whatever's there will only be visible if you say the password and then it will disappear with another. Got it!"

Remus looked over the spells, which didn't seem too difficult, "Okay, we need two passwords. Phrases would be better, harder to figure out."

"Slytherins suck?" Sirius suggested.

James rolled his eyes, "Too easy. Everyone knows that."

Remus cast the first series of spells, "I know." He touched his wand to the parchment, which was glowing slightly, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." The parchment's glow flared and disappeared.

"Ooo, I like," Sirius grinned. "What's the second?"

Remus cast the next series of spells on the parchment, to make the drawings disappear. All four of them were deep in thought, when Peter's eyes opened wide and he squeaked slightly, bouncing up and down, "I got it! I got it!"

"Just touch the parchment with your wand and say it clearly," Remus instructed.

Peter's wand rested against the surface and he grinned, "Mischief Managed."

James hugged Peter, "Brilliant!"

The lines of the map faded away and Remus started closing and stacking books, separating out the ones he wanted to take back to their dorm. The others sat and pulled out a fresh roll of parchment and started planning out how to prank the girls.

It didn't take long for the Marauders to realize that while they couldn't get into the girls' dorm themselves, they could enlist the aid of another girl. Becca, one of the Gryffindor beaters, had been more than willing to help out. The tricky staircase that led to the girls' dorm was triggered at least once a year and the Marauders had been lucky enough to witness that particular charm left by the founders before falling victim to it themselves. Their planning was spurred on by the rumors about them that spread like wildfire.

"James Potter!" Lily Evans shrieked as she came down the stairs from her dorm the next Saturday morning, her hair bright green to match her eyes, her skin a pale shade of violet, and her wand pointed at the black haired boy.

"Why do you automatically assume it was me?" James said indignantly. "When have I ever pulled a prank on you?"

"Who else could it be?" she demanded and James just spluttered, unable to form a reply that wouldn't get him hexed.

The full moon was that night and Remus was feeling wicked. He looked up from his Astronomy charts and saw the whole common room was watching the stand-off. He spoke up calmly but clearly, "It was Siri's idea."

Lily's wand instantly found a new target, but Sirius was gaping at Remus, "Remy how could you? That's against Code 14!"

Remus grinned, "Code 14 clearly says I can't rat you out to a professor, prefect, or Slytherin. Lily is none of the above."

Peter, sitting next to Remus and studying Astronomy with him, had his hands over his mouth to stifle his giggling at Sirius's expression of betrayal.

Sirius turned back to Lily and pointed back at Remus and Peter, "They were involved too!"

"Now why would Peter prank Lily?" Remus asked. "She might stop tutoring him."

Peter tried to echo Remus's innocent expression and nodded emphatically. Lily narrowed her eyes at Sirius, "Tell us how to undo this."

James paled, "Can't."

She glared at James, "Why not?"

"It'll wear off in twenty-four hours," Sirius admitted, not bothering to protest his innocence anymore. "It's permanent until then."

Her glare switched back and forth between them, as if deciding which one to hex first, "Is it the shampoo?" Sirius and James nodded. "Will it happen again?" They shook their heads. "Good." _Petrificus Totalis! Furnunculous!_

James and Sirius both fell over petrified and covered in boils. The whole common room burst into laughter and at least one person snapped a picture. Once the laughter calmed down and he had requested copies of the pictures Remus reversed the hexes.

"Thanks a lot Remy," Sirius griped.

"Well someone had to stay healthy to fix whatever she was going to do," he grinned, knowing they couldn't argue that one.

"I think we need to amend the code," James made sure his hair was sufficiently messy.

The three completely human Marauders set to finding loop-holes in their Code of Conduct that night. Code 14 was changed to include victims of the prank being pulled at the time and the Head Boy and Girl. They also added a code saying that the only way any of them could claim responsibility for a prank was anonymously, as a Marauder.

Peter looked out the window at the full moon, "Do you think it hurts?"

There was only one thing he could be talking about and James nodded, "You've seen him when he gets back... and there was Halloween first year... and that gash."

"I wish there was some way we could help," Sirius picked at a loose thread in the blanket he was sitting on.

James was struck by sudden inspiration, "What if there is?"

Sirius and Peter both perked up, "What?"

"One of the myths in my essay was that werewolves attack everything they see," James was speaking rapidly, as he always did when excited. "They don't. They only attack humans. They can smell the difference and something about the curse makes them go after people only. If we transfigure ourselves into animals we can keep him company and maybe stop him from hurting himself!"

Sirius looked doubtful, "That's really advanced James. We don't learn any of that until N.E.W.T. level and even then we only learn partial transfiguration."

"And one of us would have to stay behind," James added, seeing a problem in his solution. He frowned and rested his head on his hands.

Peter gasped and James and Sirius looked up, "What about animagi?"

"Peter you're a genius!" James declared and jumped up. "You don't have many ideas but when you do..."

Peter visibly swelled with pride at the compliment and Sirius looked deep in thought, "It's really hard to do... and it'll be illegal to try without telling the Ministry... not to mention really dangerous."

"We can't tell Remus," James said seriously and the others looked at him uneasily. Code 20 said that there were no secrets between Marauders, but that code was turning out to be very situation dependant. James looked down, a little guilty. He had only told Remus about the meetings in the Astronomy Tower and various abandoned classrooms. Sirius and Peter hadn't asked where he went those nights, but it was still a secret until he told them. He tried to defend his reasoning, "We can't get his hopes up. Chances are we'll never get it right anyway but I'll feel better just for trying. Anyway, could you imagine his reaction? No one has accomplished the transformation while still in school. Unregistered animagi are illegal... like heavy fine and short vacation in Azkaban illegal. Remus would never let us try if he knew."

Sirius sighed, "Yeah, I guess you're right. We have to be careful researching if we can't let Remus or any professors know. Remy practically lives in the library and any books on the transformation are sure to be watched if someone checks them out."

They all chewed on that thought for a while. Hogsmeade weekends weren't until third year, so they couldn't buy any books until that summer.

"We'll just have to do our research in the library, for a while anyway," James said in resignation. "We'll have to think of a way to distract Remus."

"Your library at the Manor!" Peter exclaimed. "I bet your dad has books on how to do it! There are books on everything there!"

"He'd notice if they were missing," James said, though he had no clue if there were such books there. It was likely, but he hadn't spent much time in that room of the Manor... at least not to look at the books. "Publishers put anti-duplication charms on their books too so they don't lose any sales. We could copy a bunch of it by hand, though. We'd just have to think of a way to distract Mum."

"The map!" Sirius said with a grin of satisfaction.

James gave Sirius a funny look, "What does the map have to do with Mum?"

"Not your mother, Remus!" Sirius explained. "We encourage Remus to work on that map he started. We can come up with all sorts of stuff to add to it, like secret passages and their passwords and stuff! One of us can work with him on the map while the others research animagi and he'll never see what we're doing!"

"Yes!" James agreed.

Peter started laughing, "You've been distracting your Mum since you were born James. I'm sure that if you're actually trying she won't know if you're practicing the Unforgivables in the house, never mind copying stuff from the library."

James grinned. He had a perfect excuse to spend the summer causing absolute chaos. If he was lucky his mum would even punish him by making him do school work in the library. That had always been one of her favorites.

"Too bad we can't have Frank help," James said. "Having a Ravenclaw help would make everything ten times easier."

"We don't need Frank," Sirius dismissed the Ravenclaw boy that they had spent less and less time with. "The Marauders can do anything when they put their minds to it!"

James pulled his invisibility cloak out of his trunk, "Should we start tonight?"

"No clandestine wandering scheduled?" Sirius questioned James with a grin.

James shook his head. He actually hadn't met anyone in a few weeks. He'd been too wrapped up in Marauder stuff, "Not tonight. The library's all ours, and then we can go to the hospital wing first thing tomorrow and see Remy!"

There were no objections to that plan and rolls of parchment, quills, and ink bottles were gathered together and shoved into Sirius's bag. The three of them gathered under the cloak and made their way to the library with as much stealth as possible.

"Did you realize that's much harder without Remy?" Sirius asked in a whisper once they were inside.

James nodded, "I bet he's been keeping an ear out for professors and Pringle the whole time, and probably could smell them too. Peter, take guard duty first," James handed off the cloak and the smallest Marauder went back into the hall obediently, not even questioning the order.

James and Sirius found the transfiguration section of the library and propped their wands on the shelves to provide light. James started scanning the spines of the books and pulling down some that looked like they held promise. Sirius looked through the books quickly and set aside those that had information on animagi. It was a big pile.

"Damn!" James cursed softly once they had waded through most of the pile and rubbed his eyes. "Most of these are no help at all! Have you found anything?"

Sirius shook his head, "Not a thing. Every book here just says what animagi are, who's registered and what their form is, or talks about the dangers of the transformation. Nothing actually says how to do it!"

"Restricted section?" James suggested.

Sirius shrugged. There was nothing in the regular section of the library, "What time is it?"

James flicked his wand, "Aw hell, we've left Peter out there for hours!"

"He's probably asleep," Sirius laughed as quietly as possible. "We're lucky Pringle hasn't tracked him down by his snores!"

"We can start in the Restricted Section another night," James stretched, cracking several joints, and yawned. "Let's go wake Peter up and get some food."

Sirius's stomach rumbled, "Mmm, food. I'm starved."

They eventually found Peter by the edge of his shoe sticking out from under the cloak. James took the cloak off him and Peter grabbed for it in his sleep, "I don wanna get up Mummy."

Sirius snickered and tickled Peter's ear with a quill. James cast a silencing charm so when Peter woke with a yelp it didn't bring the caretaker and every professor in the school running. They spent the rest of the night planning in the kitchens and stuffing their faces and made it up to the hospital wing with a supply of pastries only moments after the great hall opened for breakfast, with only a shake of Madam Pomfrey's head in reprimand.

Sirius was determined and eventually managed to get out of James what he did on the nights he slipped away. He instantly demanded details and berated James for not telling him sooner, but suggested leaving Peter in the dark for a bit longer. The pudgy Marauder got uncomfortable whenever Remus and Sirius teased James about liking Lily, which he adamantly denied. Whenever James returned from a night out Sirius would sneak over and ask him all about it.

A simple question from James got Remus making lists of everything that could be done with the map, organizing and reorganizing his thoughts several times. He started looking for a spell that would automate a quill to draw the map to scale. When that idea didn't work he found a spell that used a wand to measure distances and started adjusting the map with that. Two of the Marauders would frequently be wandering the castle at night, measuring and changing the map, while the others worked on figuring out everything they knew about animagi, what they needed to find out, and using the information they had on human transfigurations to see if they could work out the transformations themselves.

"Hey Peter!" James exclaimed. He jumped off his bed and onto Peter's, holding his pile of parchment open to the page he was reading.

"What?" Peter asked in exasperation. He doubted they would ever get anywhere with the animagus thing, but Sirius and James refused to give up. Peter was working on his History of Magic homework while James was reading yet another passage meticulously copied from a book in the Restricted Section. Thanks to Remus's map work they had a spell that copied individual pages of books onto parchment, but it took time.

James held out the parchment and pointed, "It says that the animagus form of every wizard is the inner animal, a representation of the wizard's soul. It mentions something about meditation to discover the form. That's the first step!"

James was triumphant, though Peter was skeptical, "Meditation?"

James nodded, "Yup."

"James, you can't even sit still on your broom fifty feet in the air. You almost killed yourself when you learned how to fly!" Peter reminded his friend. "What makes you think you can meditate?"

"It's for Remus," James answered flatly with a mild glare. "Marauders can do anything."

Peter sighed and put away his book and parchment. James would insist on starting right then he knew, "Fine James. How do we meditate?"

Gryffindor did not win the Quidditch Cup that year, but they came closer than they had in probably a decade. The House Cup was won by Ravenclaw and the Marauders marveled that they had made it through yet another year. They used the cheering potion in everyone's drinks during the leaving feast again, but signed the prank with singing cards left at each table, rather than the fireworks in the air. On the train ride to King's Cross station the Marauders all signed the bottom of the Marauder Code of Conduct, making it an official wizard's contract even if they weren't aware of that. Overall, they declared their second year at Hogwarts as successful.

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	13. 12: Summer Studies

**Chapter Twelve: Summer Studies**

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Viviane Potter was at the end of her rope. James had started five fires, turned two of the house elves various flashing colors, charmed one of them to talk only in rhyme, filled a room with soap bubbles that refused to pop, and turned her skin green all in the space of two weeks. The irony of the last was not lost on her and it was all she could do not to spank her son as if he was three instead of thirteen.

Her husband was not much better at thirty-five, laughing at every prank James managed to pull, and even those that failed. There were three of those on top of the successful pranks. That morning James had replaced her goblet with a dribble goblet that he got at a muggle joke store and Aaron had transfigured to look like their goblets.

"Ow, Mum, geroff!" James protested as she dragged him by the ear to the library.

"You will stay in this room until dinner!" Viviane nearly yelled at her only son. "You will make no noise. You will play no pranks. You will have no friends over. Your father and your uncle will not enter this room. You will read quietly or do your homework. That goes for tomorrow as well and for as long as I see fit, which at the very least is until my skin is its natural color. One of the house elves will bring you lunch and they are instructed to do no more!"

James tried to look sufficiently abashed, "But Mum..."

"No!" Viviane snapped. "I will not hear another word out of you James Aaron Potter." The door slammed shut and James jumped up and down in silent victory.

He figured he would actually get some homework done first, as his mother would get suspicious if there was nothing to show her when she released him from his sentence. With a sigh, and his fingers just itching to look through the transfiguration books, James pulled out a few history books and started to read about mediaeval witch burnings. He was actually amused by Wendelin the Weird. He got sidetracked and looked up freezing charms... then warming charms... then started drawing pictures of Wendelin laughing while she 'burned at the stake.'

By the time dinner came around James had several cartoon like representations of witch burnings, drawings of Sirius, Remus, and Peter, and one of the bright green eyed Lily Evans that he folded up and tucked in his pocket, unsure of why he drew it in the first place. He didn't like the fluttery feeling in his stomach he got when he looked at the picture.

"How was your day James?" Aaron Potter asked during dinner. "I see nothing else in the house has changed color or shape," Aaron chuckled. James just scowled, knowing it was exactly what his mother expected and his father glanced over at his mother, whose skin was still green. "I see you finally snapped Dear. What is it, the library? Have you got detention copying lines son?"

"Yeah, yeah, go ahead and laugh," James said sulkily. "You helped me. You should be suffering too."

"Your father has to go to work," Viviane replied, "so he can't join you. Now how long will my skin be green?"

James looked up and calculated in his head, "Um, I think you've got about five hours left until it starts to fade. It should be all gone by tomorrow morning."

"It had better," Viviane waved her wand threateningly. "The Pettigrews and Longbottoms are coming over for dinner tomorrow, and don't think that gets you out of the library any earlier!"

James grumbled and shoved a forkful of rice into his mouth.

_Sirius,_

_I am an idiot, a complete, utter, beyond belief idiot. So, I wanted to check the library in the Manor for that stuff but I didn't make sure there were actually books on it in there first. I've got at least one week of library detention, ON PURPOSE, and nothing to do but homework. I swear I'm going to go insane. This room gets smaller every minute and I have (hopefully) five more days of this._

_So, all my homework is done. Remus is going to have a heart attack from the shock when he reads my letter, and I can't really tell him why. Peter and Frank were here for dinner a few nights ago with their folks. Our dads kept talking about work in some sort of strange Auror language of insinuations and stuff. We couldn't figure out a word of it. Mum let them stay for the night but then it was straight back to the library for me. I haven't flown all week! She locked up my broom!_

_So how's your summer going? I bet you haven't even started your homework yet. Peter hasn't. He'll wait until last minute like usual and panic and come running to me or Frank for help._

_I think I might actually try that meditation thing, since I can't find anything else. When I tried before I didn't get anywhere with it but we'll see._

_When are you going to Diagon Alley to get your things for next year? Let me know and I'll talk to Peter and Remy and see if we can all meet up. The Ministry is forcing my Dad to actually take some of his vacation time, since he hasn't in years, so I'll be away for a couple of weeks. Mum and Dad still haven't told me where we're going._

_Hogsmeade weekends next year! Practice your quidditch. I know you'll make the team!_

_Write back!_

_James_

Sirius just had to start laughing as he read James's letter. He understood how James felt, trapped in the family library, but at least James wasn't being forced to study the dark arts. It was Potions for Sirius that summer, and the worst of it was that he had to go to Snape Manor and learn from Snape's uncle and this really old guy. There was not a doubt in Sirius's mind that both men were Death Eaters.

Normally Sirius had shared a tutor with his cousin Narcissa, as they were the same age, but that summer they were starting to groom her to be the perfect wife and mother. He shuddered at the thought of anyone being forced to marry that shallow bitch. Still though, he would rather be in those lessons with Narcissa, learning the exact way to seat a group of guests at a dinner party according to lineage, wealth, and political influence, than learning about dark potions with Snape.

"Black," Snape sneered at him as he came through the Floo.

Sirius dusted his robes off with a true aristocratic air, something he had actually taken the time to learn from his parents, and looked down at Snape like he was something that crawled out of the drain. His hair _was_ rather slimy and the thought that it was possible brought a smile to Sirius's face, "Snape. I see you still haven't figured out how to wash your hair. It's lather, rinse, repeat. Just three little words to remember... lather, rinse, repeat."

The sneer returned to Sirius was one of the worst he had seen from the Slytherin and Sirius smiled even wider. He had scored a hit.

"If you are ready gentlemen?" the old man, who Sirius assumed was also a Death Eater, wheezed at them.

"Yes, sir," Sirius put on the proper deferential tone. If he could act for his parents he could certainly act for this old fool.

"Yes, sir," Snape was sullen and his greasy hair hung about his face.

"Tie that hair back," the old man, Sirius thought his name was Antioch or Anders, or something like that, said. "I'll not have you ruining a potion with that greasy hair."

Sirius's smile widened ever so slightly. If the Potions Master wasn't such a crotchety old bastard who served an evil dark wizard he might actually like the man. Sirius put a little spring in his step, just to bug Snape. He had to be there two mornings a week and if he could use that to bother Snape he would.

"We will not be brewing anything this morning," the raspy voice told them. Sirius could almost feel the headache starting. Three hours of lecture. He pulled out parchment, quill, and ink, prepared to take notes. He would probably pay attention to the Hogwarts professors much more if they were allowed to use corporal punishment... or if they reported every transgression to his mother.

Three hours later Sirius stretched and the bones popped down his spine, one right after the other.

"I know you're a Gryffindor Black," Snape said with venom, "but do you have to act like your mudblood friends here?"

Sirius snorted, "I do not answer to you Snape. My family is perfectly aware of my associates and my behavior. Slither back to your room Snape." Sirius made a shooing motion with his hands.

A jet of red light shot between them, "Boys!"

Sirius and Snape both jumped. The old man was faster than looked possible. Sirius was first to respond, "I apologize for my rudeness sir. I am afraid Severus brings out the basest side of me."

"Sorry sir," Snape added. "We are accustomed to such bickering at school and it becomes second nature."

"You will find, boys, that what House you are from makes little difference in twenty years time," rasped the old man. "You will each write me two feet on the uses of unicorn blood."

Sirius and Snape both nodded and then glared at each other. Snape swept out of the room and Sirius followed at a more leisurely pace. He smiled and nodded at the tutor on his way out, wondering if Remus knew how to cast a memory charm. He wanted to erase all these lessons from his mind the instant he got on the Hogwarts Express.

"How dare you embarrass me like that," Snape's uncle roared. There was the sound of a hand hitting flesh. Snape's uncle had probably backhanded him across the face. Sirius knew that sound well. There was a sniff and Sirius listened closely, ears straining. "Don't snivel like a little girl Severus. Act like a man, or the Dark Lord will never accept you!"

The tutor came up behind Sirius and spoke in a low voice, "Keep walking Black. Use what you learn wisely."

Sirius was sure the man was not referring to his potions lecture from that morning. An evil smile lit up his face as he thought of all ways he could torment Snape with the reprimand he had overheard. As he left through the fire he thought he saw the old Potions Master smirking at him.

"What did you learn today?" Sirius's mother greeted him as he returned from Snape Manor for lunch.

Sirius bowed his head respectfully for a brief moment, "It was a lecture only today Mother, as unicorn blood is a difficult ingredient to obtain and is not to be wasted on two thirteen year old boys."

"Very good," Mrs. Black nodded approval. "Give me your notes so I can review them and you have the afternoon free to entertain your cousins."

Sirius nodded and went directly to the parlour, where he knew Narcissa and Bellatrix would be waiting for him, ready to report if he made the mildest slip or acted at all 'Gryffindor-ish' while in his mother's home. It was to be another afternoon of chess and dull conversation. He couldn't wait to get up to his room after dinner.

_Remus,_

_This summer is most interesting. My mother arranged for a Potions Master to conduct lessons for me which I share with Severus Snape. It is a wonderful opportunity to learn things which might otherwise pass us by._

_I wrote to James to inform him that I will be in Diagon Alley on August 30th and have permission to stay at The Silver Scales that night and the next, with my cousins and aunt and uncle. Either day will work for shopping for our school supplies. Write back so I know when to meet you._

_I hope your summer is passing enjoyably._

_Sirius_

Remus raised an eyebrow as he read between the lines of Sirius's letter, quite possibly written with his mother hovering over him. Not for the first time he wondered just what sort of woman Mrs. Black was to treat her son the way she did. His mother had never been horrible to him... she had just left.

"Interesting letter," Simeon Lupin asked as he set dinner on the table.

"You could say that," Remus replied. "I've told you about Sirius's family, the Blacks, right?" Remus's dad nodded. "His mother is making him learn dark potions from some old Potions Master this summer, probably a Death Eater."

Simeon Lupin shook his head and sighed, "I don't know why you couldn't have ended up with some neutral friends. You've got one destined to be an Auror, and another being groomed for the Dark Mark."

"We've been over this Dad," Remus glared at his father. He had shot up to the same height as his father that summer. It was strange being able to look him directly in the eye like that. The Marauders would make an interesting group that year. Peter had yet to have a single growth spurt, so far as Remus knew, and Remus had probably reached his adult height. He wondered vaguely if his lycanthropy affected puberty. There were no books that could help him though, as there were no other known werewolves who had been bitten that early to compare to. Most children either didn't survive the bite or the first transformation.

Simeon sat down to eat, "I know son. You are more of an adult than a child now I suppose."

They ate in silence for several minutes. Silence was common in the Lupin house, as both occupants were usually reading or working on some project or another, even while they ate at times.

"Did you get a chance to go over those equations I gave you?" Simeon asked.

Remus smiled. His father had been proud to hear that Remus had signed up for Arithmancy, though he was probably already close to N.E.W.T. level in his studies, and had been having Remus look at some of his contractual work for a second opinion and practice.

"I looked them over earlier and I was planning on going into more detail tonight and tomorrow," Remus replied. "I did my transfiguration essay today, and just have charms left now. Then I was thinking of getting ahead on Ancient Runes. I haven't really looked into them before so the class should be interesting."

Remus had also gotten a few ideas for pranks, to his complete surprise, but he wasn't about to share _that _work with his father. The elder Lupin would not approve, as such things drew attention to Remus.

"You do not have to work all summer," Simeon smiled. "I have opened up the Floo connection to include Potter Manor. I bumped into Aaron Potter this year and he expressed an interest in meeting his son's friend. Denying him would not be prudent."

Remus's eyes opened wide in hope. He had never expected to be allowed to visit James and Peter on holiday, "I can go see them?"

"I have kept you locked away from other children, haven't I?" Simeon laid down his knife and fork and looked intently at Remus.

Remus looked down, "Yes Dad, but I understand why you did. I was afraid... that when they found out..."

"Your friends know?" Simeon's eyes widened in something like fear.

"It's okay Dad! They're okay with it!" Remus explained how it had happened, that it was inevitable once they started studying dark creatures in Defense Against the Dark Arts. He told him how astonished he had been at the reactions James and Sirius had and how the two of them had brought Peter around.

Dinner was abandoned as Simeon got up and drew his son into a hug, "I've been so afraid for you."

Remus thought his father was crying and he wasn't quite sure how to react. Simeon Lupin had always been the ideal academic, objective and logical at all times, cool and mild-mannered, never showing extreme emotion or much in the way of emotion at all. He hugged him back, wondering when it had become his job to comfort his father.

They separated and went back to dinner, though Remus's mind was already composing a letter back to James. The Potters would be away on vacation the last week of July and the first week of August. The full moon was on August 15 and Remus didn't want to risk getting anywhere near an Auror around that time. If his father sent off the letter tomorrow it would get to James just before they left for vacation... and then it occurred to Remus that he could just call James.

"I'm going to make a call, okay Dad?" Remus had washed his dishes and set them to dry. May things were done in the Lupin household with magic, but as Remus couldn't use it over the holiday he was required to do his own dishes and some of the cleaning muggle style.

Simeon Lupin just nodded and Remus dashed into the living room. He threw some Floo powder into the fire and the flames turned green. He called out for Potter Manor and stuck his head into the fire. He hadn't ever used the Floo that way before, though he had seen it often enough. It was slightly unnerving that his head was spinning through space as his body remained kneeling on a cushion that normally leaned against the wall next to the fireplace for just the purpose Remus was using it for.

"Who is you trying to reach, sir," a voice that could only belong to a house elf asked.

"James Potter," Remus replied.

"Tawney is getting Master James for you," there was a snap and the house elf vanished.

Moments later there was the thunder of running feet and James came into view, skidding to a halt before the fire, "Remy, step through!"

"Just let me check with Dad," Remus smiled and pulled his head out. "Dad can I go visit James?"

"Already?" Simeon Lupin came in from the kitchen looking amused.

"Hello Mr. Lupin!" James had stuck his head in the fire. "Can Remus come through for a bit? He'll be back in a couple hours or so."

"You must be James," James nodded his head and Simeon smiled. "Go ahead Remus. Be back at a reasonable hour."

"Yes Dad," Remus grinned as James's head disappeared. He stepped into the fire and called out, "Potter Manor," and spun away.

Remus stepped out of the fireplace in the Potters' great room as though he was stepping out of the common room into the corridor. One of the first things he noticed was that James was getting taller too.

"I have never seen James Floo without falling flat on his face," Aaron Potter greeted Remus and handed him a brush for his clothes.

"Yes, well, James's body has such momentum that I think it doesn't even pay attention to what direction he is moving in, even if that direction is down," Remus grinned as James look offended. "I'm Remus Lupin, Mr. Potter."

Aaron Potter grinned, "Please Remus, call me Aaron. There are no Mr. and Mrs. Potter in this house unless my mother is visiting."

"It's nice to meet you Aaron," Remus smiled.

"Anyone who can insult James so eloquently is welcome in my house," Aaron continued to grin.

"Dad," James was getting more offended by the moment. "My father and one of my best friends ganging up on me, life is so unfair!"

Remus laughed, "Did you actually turn your mother's skin green?"

"James Aaron Potter!" a woman's voice came from not far away.

Both Aaron and James instantly wore the same 'I just got caught' look, "Uh oh."

"I would think that the punishment you had was enough!" a dark haired petite woman came into the room and Remus was immediately reminded of Madam Pomfrey. "Did you have to tell all your friends too?"

"He did tell us about the punishment as well," Remus said, amused by the family dynamics he was seeing. James's behavior had never made more sense. He was apparently a carbon copy of his father.

"I am sure he did," a sharp look was directed at James, who ducked his head sheepishly. Mrs. Potter turned to Remus and smiled. She was much shorter than him, "I'm Viviane Potter. It is a pleasure to meet you. Please call me Viviane."

"Remus Lupin," Remus shook her offered hand lightly.

"Well, you two may as well run off," Viviane said. "No potions, no brooms after dark, and _no pranks! _You have to get to bed at a decent hour James. We're going clothes shopping tomorrow."

James scrunched up is face and tugged at Remus's sleeve, "Let's get out of here!"

James led Remus outside and down the front walk, "Where are we going?"

"Peter lives just over the hill! We can surprise him!" James replied with a grin. He put his arm around Remus's shoulders. "I have been so unbelievably bored. Mum extended my library time... and there aren't even any interesting books in there! There's not one that would be in the Restricted Section!" Remus laughed at James's definition of an 'interesting book.' James looked like he was concentrating hard, "I wonder where Dad keeps them. We have to have some that aren't so basic. I bet they're in some hidden room somewhere, and I thought I knew the whole manor. The house elves are no help at all! What have you been doing?"

Remus grinned. Despite enjoying the quiet of home he had missed the pure ball of energy that was James Potter, even though it had only been three weeks since school ended, "Not much. I've been reading, doing homework. My father is an Arithmancy Master and he gave me some of his work to look over. He's been working on some new charms lately, though I'm not sure what they're for yet. It's pretty complex stuff, like this one where..."

"That explains so much," James interrupted and looked at Remus with wide eyes.

"Huh?" Remus was wondering exactly what was explained.

"Do you and your Dad just sit around and read all day and night?" James asked.

Remus shrugged, "More or less. We play chess, and Dad has a great telescope, much better than the ones we use at school. What do you and your Dad do... or do I even want to know?"

"Remy, Remy, Remy," James shook his head. "I have a new mission in life, or at least for this summer."

"And that is?" Remus looked wary, not sure if he wanted to be a project.

"You are going to learn how to be a kid," James pronounced. "Dad, and Uncle Clive, and Peter, and Frank will all help. This summer is going to be the best!"

They crested the hill... and saw the Dark Mark hovering over a house across the valley below them. James's face went deathly pale and Remus was sure his was the same.

"We have to go get Dad," James croaked out.

The turned and ran flat out for Potter Manor, Remus being careful not to get there too far ahead of James. If the Dark Mark was already there then the Death Eaters were gone and the victims were most likely dead. Slowing his unnaturally fast run wouldn't change anything. Remus opened the door and it banged shut behind them.

"Dad! Dad!" James yelled frantically at the top of his lungs.

Aaron Lupin ran into the foyer with his wand drawn, scanning for trouble, alerted by a tone he hadn't ever heard from his son. Remus pointed back the way they came, "Dark Mark, over the hill."

Aaron nodded and gave James and Remus both a quick hug, "Don't go outside. Don't use the Floo until I get back." The Auror flicked his wand and the flames in the fireplace died. "Do you know whose house it was James?"

James nodded and spoke through tears, "The Figgs Dad. Ara's just a squib!"

"Stay here James, do you understand me? Stay here." James nodded again and Aaron turned to Remus, "I'll let your father know you're okay and with us. You may be here for the night."

Remus just nodded and watched James's father run out the door, wand in hand. He didn't envy James for a moment, with his family in constant danger. They walked up stairs slowly, and spent the rest of the night working on defensive spells without their wands. They were still practicing hours later when James's father checked in on them and sat down, giving them pointers every now and then.

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Please Review!

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	14. 13: Keep the Darkness Out

**Third Year**

**Chapter Thirteen: Keep the Darkness Out**

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Remus cast the cleaning charm the instant he saw Sirius's drawn face. The dark haired boy slumped in his seat, his hair falling forward to hide his face from view, now long enough to completely cast his face in shadow. He changed into his school robes immediately and cast cleaning spells on all his belongings, a ritual to cleanse him of his family. They were quiet for the first hour of the ride.

The Potters had cancelled their vacation, as Death Eater activity had stepped up. The next morning Simeon Lupin had apparated to Potter Manor and he and Viviane Potter took James and Remus to muggle London and Diagon Alley for new clothes as both were desperately in need. Remus knew there were some Aurors following them, but didn't tell James to avoid upsetting his friend further.

There had only been one survivor of the Death Eater attack, a squib named Arabella Figg who had been away at a meeting of some sort. Her husband and their adult daughter, a wizard and witch, and the girl's boyfriend, also a wizard, were killed. Diagon Alley had been teeming with Aurors when the four friends met for their school shopping two days before the train left King's Cross Station. The plan James had to introduce Remus to childish pursuits was abandoned in the gloom that surrounded their summer.

"Did you get taller Remus?" Peter asked somewhat enviously.

Remus nodded, "I don't think I'll grow anymore though. I'm the same height as my dad now."

"I like the new haircut," Sirius spoke up. His own hair had grown to chin length and he kept brushing it back with one hand.

"Blame this idiot," Remus nudged James. "He insisted I cut it and got his _mother_ involved." Remus's hair had been down to his shoulders and was now cut to just above his ears. Losing the weight had given it a little wave.

"Ooo," Peter's eyes widened. "That's low James."

James grinned, "Revenge is sweet. That's what you get for teaming up with Dad against me!"

"Oh well," Remus shrugged. "It looks good and it's easier to take care of."

The door of their compartment banged open and all four of them stood quickly, wands out. Snape, Nott, and Flint, all Slytherin third years, stood in the doorway.

Snape looked Remus up and down and blinked. He had his sneer in place quickly though, "Just thought I'd let you know Black, your little act this summer didn't fool anyone except that banshee you call your mother. Don't even think of pulling it again."

The smile on Sirius's face took Remus back for an instant. It was malicious, pure and simple, "Aw, what's really wrong _Snivel_lous? Did your uncle get mad and make you cry because the Potions Master gave me better grades than you?"

Snape's face got even darker, and he gave Sirius a look of hatred, "Don't call me that."

"What... Snivellous?" James didn't see the look on Sirius's face, just the one from Snape. Snape flinched and the other Slytherins chuckled, apparently not about to stick up for Snape. "Go away Snivellous. I already showered today and if you stick around much longer I'll have to take another tonight."

Peter laughed and Sirius and James quickly joined him. Remus watched Sirius's face loosen up and turn back into the Siri they knew so well. Then he saw the look on Snape's face, a mixture of fury and just a little hurt. For a moment he felt bad for him, but the Slytherin had come looking for trouble so it wasn't Remus's fault if he couldn't take what he dished out.

"There's nothing more to say here," Remus waved at the Slytherins and shut the door, throwing a locking spell on it for good measure. His friends were still laughing and the good mood was contagious. Remus joined in.

The ride to Hogwarts was similar to the one a year before, only they didn't get hex happy on this, their third trip to the school. Sirius spent the trip trying to forget his summer and push his family and their bigotry out of his mind. Remus got accustomed to the myriad of smells and sounds again that would assault his senses upon arrival at Hogwarts.

James and Peter were the same as ever, though the death of their early childhood babysitter's husband and daughter had hit them hard. Those were the first casualties of the war that they knew personally, not just as distant names remembered from some dinner conversation overheard from their parents.

The mood in their compartment lightened the instant James's eyes lit up with the beginnings of their first prank of the year. The remainder of the trip was spent in planning and the Marauders were getting off to an early start. It would be the first time they pulled a prank during the welcoming feast.

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy, Warty, Hogwarts," James sang as they got their first glimpse of the castle for that year.

Remus couldn't keep back the grin from seeing the castle. They were all excited to be at school, together as they belonged. Remus recognized that when he was apart from his friends he felt like part of him was missing. They completed him, and he wondered how he had ever lived without them, and how he would stand being apart from them again when they all graduated.

"Oh bullocks," Sirius cursed.

"What is it?" Peter jumped up, trying to see over the heads and find out what was wrong.

"Malfoy's a prefect," Sirius said darkly.

"Shit!" James cursed. There was a bright silver badge on the sixth year's robes. "What happened to Evan Rosier?"

"Transferred to Durmstrang," Frank Longbottom's voice said from behind them. "I heard it from one of our prefects on the train. A few Slytherins left. They teach the dark arts at Durmstrang, not just defense."

Sirius and Remus both shivered. _There but for the grace of Merlin go I,_ Sirius thought. He was extremely thankful his father worked at the Ministry and his mother thought it would be a scandal if their children were sent to a foreign school. After the sorting incident she might have pulled him out of Hogwarts and sent him to Durmstrang otherwise.

Their light mood partially stomped on, and yet another thing to worry about, the Marauders trooped into the castle ignoring the fine mist that fell on them during the walk from the carriages. Once they were inside though James began talking about the first prank of the year and they finished their last minute preparations just as David Gudgeon was sorted into Gryffindor, forgetting dark wizards and Death Eaters if only for a little while.

They didn't have time before the feast for a trip to the kitchens, or to set up the great hall, so the prank had to be somewhat improvised. Professor Dumbledore warned the students to stay out of the Forbidden Forest and away from the Whomping Willow. The year before some of the second years had started a game to see who could get closest to the tree, but luckily no one was hurt.

When Dumbledore was finished talking and the students stood to leave Peter slipped under the invisibility cloak. As the smallest and quietest, though it was a close call between him and Remus for the latter, Marauder it was his job to set off the prank. He made his way over to the Slytherin table and lit a bunch of fireworks with his wand. They shot out from under the table and exploded in green and silver stars and curls that looked a bit like snakes. Professor Spectre started questioning members of her House immediately and scolding them for setting a bad example for the first years.

What she didn't notice was that as the casing of the fireworks fell it stuck wherever it landed, a glittery crimson and gold. Professor Dumbledore gave James a look which clearly stated he knew who the culprits were, and went over to rescue the Slytherins from their Head of House.

"That was brilliant!" Sirius fell backwards onto his bed with a wide grin.

James wriggled out of his uniform and into his pajamas, "The perfect start to the year. Excellent job Peter!"

"10 points to Peter for being sneaky," Remus laughed and climbed into his bed.

"Did you see Snivellus's face?" Peter had a dreamy look. "He was so furious. He knew it was us."

The first Astronomy class of the year was especially hard on the Gryffindors and they lost more points than Spectre normally took from them. The great hall remained covered in crimson and gold glitter for at least a week, the majority of which was around the Slytherin table. The first detentions of the year with Pringle were tasked to scrubbing the glitter away, James and Sirius among them.

Confrontations with the Slytherins were much more dangerous than before. Prefects couldn't take house points, but they could assign detentions, and fighting in the corridors was more than enough reason. So Snape and Nott and the Black sisters would provoke the Marauders while Malfoy just happened to be approaching. Remus did his best to hold his friends back.

"If we attack first he has the right to give us detention!" Remus reminded James and Sirius for perhaps the fifth time in as many days.

When he wasn't there, though, James and Sirius were likely to lose their tempers and end up scrubbing floors or tramping through the forest with Hagrid. Those detentions they actually enjoyed and came back with bright cheeks and tales of centaurs and giant spiders, determined to find a way to explore the forest on their own.

"Boggarts," Professor Fenwick looked down on his class. Defense Against the Dark Arts got much more interesting that year, as they actually got to tackle dark creatures, not just learn about them. The desk behind him jumped and shook, causing at least half the class to jump, and the professor kicked it. "Who can tell me what a boggart is? Mr. Lupin?"

"A boggart is a shape shifter that takes the form of whatever you most fear," Remus replied, reciting almost verbatim out of the textbook.

"Correct. Five points to Gryffindor," the professor said. "The key to defeating the boggart is laughter. Wands out and repeat after me. _Riddikulus!_"

The class imitated his wand movement, _Riddikulus!_

"Excellent," Professor Fenwick had been much more forthcoming with compliments the older they got. "I happen to have a boggart here. You will approach it one by one and try to force it into a shape you find amusing. If there are those of you who do not wish to face the boggart during this class you may abstain, but see me after class and we will arrange a private attempt."

Remus was instantly relieved and he glanced over to see Sirius equally calmed. Neither of them could risk having their worst fear broadcast all over the school. After all, what beside a werewolf would fear the full moon more than any other thing? Remus was not sure exactly what Sirius's greatest fear was, but he was sure it had to do with his family and the dark arts.

They were the only two that stayed behind. Even shy Peter had taken his turn, forcing his giant rat into a muzzle with bells and a pink tutu.

"Professor," Sirius said as the class emptied and they stood at the front of the room, "if you have time Remus and I can go now. I don't mind if he sees my boggart."

"So long as Mr. Lupin agrees?" Professor Fenwick's look spoke volumes.

"Sirius will understand mine," Remus said, getting an interesting look from their professor.

"I will release the boggart on three. One... two... three!"

Remus stepped up and the full moon floated in front of him. He felt a slight pull of the wolf though the next full moon was over a week away. He fought the wolf back and then remembered what he was supposed to be doing. He raised his wand and said forcefully, _Riddikulus!_

There was a 'pop' and the man in the moon appeared with a smiling face, put his thumbs in his ears, stuck his tongue out and blew a raspberry. Remus laughed.

"Good Mr. Lupin," Professor Fenwick said loudly. "Now Mr. Black."

Sirius stepped forward with an uneasy look and Remus instantly became worried. He knew Sirius did not know how to make his boggart funny. A 'pop' sounded as the moon changed into a Death Eater. Sirius had his wand pointed as the Death Eater reached up to remove his mask... and Sirius was facing himself. Death Eater Sirius pushed back his left sleeve to reveal the Dark Mark and smirked at them.

Sirius had forgotten everything except what was facing him, "No! I won't!" He was yelling for all he was worth and his wand hand was shaking, his face bright red in anger. "I'm not dark! I'm not dark!"

Remus saw tears starting to fall from his friend's eyes and he felt a small growl rise from deep within. He looked up and gave their Defense Professor a pointed look. The man nodded and stepped in front of Sirius, who had fallen to his knees, still yelling.

Remus knelt next to Sirius and pulled him into a hug, "Shh Siri. You're not one of them. You're a Gryffindor. You're not a Death Eater."

Sirius was shaking with sobs and Remus wondered what his friend had seen that he had never told them about, wondered exactly what his mother was forcing him to study every summer. He never looked up to see what his professor's boggart was, too intent on comforting his friend. When Sirius had calmed down and was wiping his eyes, Professor Fenwick handed them both some chocolate.

"It helps," Professor Fenwick said in a deep soothing tone.

Remus thanked him and they headed back to Gryffindor Tower, the corridors luckily empty. They didn't talk to James and Peter about the boggart. It was just understood that it stayed between them.

"Wake up! Potter! Black! Get down to the quidditch pitch this instant!" Tim Spinnet, the Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team burst into the third year boys' dorm early on the second Saturday of the year. "If you're not there in ten minutes you're running laps!"

Remus grabbed his wand from the bedside table and flicked it within the confines of his curtains. It was just before six in the morning. Peter could still be heard snoring, but James and Sirius were grumbling as they pulled on quidditch robes, bleary eyed and sleep deprived.

"What time is it?" Sirius groaned.

Remus opened his curtains and looked out. James and Sirius were bumping into each other and the furniture as they put on their protective quidditch gear. He grinned and decided to have a little fun, "It's four."

"Four!" James yelled, still not waking Peter. "Tim's bloody insane!"

"Remind me again why I'm on the quidditch team?" Sirius grumbled as he grabbed his broom and headed for the door.

Remus laughed, "Girls like quidditch players? You like flying?"

"Oh yeah," Sirius followed James out the door, still blinking the sleep out of his eyes and Remus went back to sleep.

"Okay everyone," Tim rubbed his hands together and looked over his team and backups, "last year was good. We came close... but Slytherin beat us in the end. This is our year. The backup team has been training for a full year and we can pull our replacements from them and the talent in the second years. We'll have tryouts for the replacements and backup team next week. Today I want everyone on backup to rotate out of their position and see how you work with the team. Let's go!"

It was a brutal practice. They ran drills, practice games, dodged bludgers, and ran laps around the field. Tim even had them doing calisthenics, having seen it on muggle television at a cousin's house that summer. By the time the great hall was open for breakfast the team was mud-covered and ready to crawl straight back into bed.

Remus and Peter made their way down to breakfast leisurely, accompanied by Lily and Alice. Bea and Von were with the quidditch team, even though Bea hadn't made the backup team the year before. She was hoping to replace Sirius or a fifth-year named Jason as backup beater that year, having grown a bit tall for seeker. Yvonne still had to wait another year for an opening for chaser on the regular team.

"You guys know Frank Longbottom, right?" Lily asked with a smile that was almost worthy of a Marauder.

"James and I grew up with him," Peter answered.

"Lily!" Alice shrieked. It was one of maybe ten words Remus had ever heard out of her mouth, and certainly the loudest.

Lily smiled and winked at Remus, who gave Alice a pat on the shoulder, "We can introduce you to him if you want Alice. He's really nice."

Alice blushed bright red and then hid behind Lily in embarrassment when Peter called out, "Oi, Frank!"

Frank turned when he heard Peter and excused himself from his Ravenclaw friends, "Hey Peter, what's up? Hi Remus."

"Frank, this is Lily Evans," Peter said with a grin, "and the girl hiding behind her is Alice Anderson."

"Hi Lily, Alice," Frank smiled and Alice shot a murderous look at Peter. "So what's going on?"

Peter opened his mouth to say something that probably would have gotten him hexed but Remus grabbed him from behind and covered his mouth, "We were just wondering if you knew when the first Hogsmeade weekend is. You got your form signed, right?"

"Of course I did... you four aren't planning anything, are you?" Frank checked over his shoulders quickly. "Where are Tweedle-dumb and Tweedle-dumber?"

"Quidditch," Remus laughed at the muggle fiction reference, unnoticed by Alice and Peter. Lily whispered something in Alice's ear though, and she blushed bright red again. "And no, we have nothing planned for Hogsmeade, other than a trip to Zonko's and Honeyduke's of course, and maybe the apothecary."

"Just what we need, those four with access to a joke shop," Lily complained with a roll of her eyes. "They're bad enough already."

"We haven't done anything to you," Remus protested and released Peter, "well, not since we turned your hair green."

"Remus Lupin! You _were_ involved in that!" Lily smacked his arm, hard.

Remus laughed and rubbed his arm, "I never said I wasn't. I just said Peter wouldn't prank you and he wouldn't... unless we convinced him to help us like we did that time."

Lily glowered at him and they joined the rest of the third years at the Gryffindor table. James and Sirius were nearly falling asleep in their porridge and Bea and Von were leaning on each other to stay upright while sipping tea. Alice barely noticed, though, as she watched Frank join his friends at the Ravenclaw table.

"What's with her?" Yvonne yawned and asked Lily.

"She fell down the rabbit hole," Remus answered with a smile, getting looks of confusion from the others.

"She okay?" James asked sleepily, looking up at Lily and blinking.

Lily laughed, "I don't think it hurt too much. She just got stuck in her own private Wonderland."

"Is it just me," Sirius looked up and wiped his face with both hands, "or are you people making no sense?"

"They're making no sense," James stood and stretched. "I think I'm overdue for a shower."

Yvonne got up, "Good idea."

James put a hand around her waist and waggled his eyebrows suggestively, "Oh really?"

Von pushed him away and hit over the head, "Not together you idiot. Come on Bea."

James and Sirius, suddenly reenergized, chased after the girls, calling out professions of undying love. Remus just shook his head and turned back to his food. Peter slipped away when Lily started up a conversation about Arithmancy and Remus and Alice discussed their homework with her.

James and Sirius were toweling off their hair in their dorm, clad in boxers only, and hitting each other with the wet towels when Peter walked right into the middle of the battle and got a face full of wet towel.

"Thanks guys," he complained as he extracted himself from the towel and found a dry one to wipe himself off. "Remus is in the library with Lily and Alice working on Arithmancy. We've probably got until lunch."

"Damn! I need to get those problems done too," James said through the jumper that was halfway over his head.

"Wait a minute," Sirius was pulling on his socks, "if you're in Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures with me, and in Arithmancy with Remus, then that means you're taking more classes than required! Look out! Prefect Potter is on the way!"

James tackled Sirius, "Never! I'm not a prefect and I never will be!"

"Guys," Peter whined, up on his bed to stay out of the fight. "Guys! GUYS!"

"Yes, Peter?" Sirius looked up and asked calmly, while James pinned him to the floor.

"Are we going to work on this or not?" Peter looked at the crossly.

James jumped up, "Yeah. Okay, I didn't find a thing this summer... nothing... nada... zilch... zip... zero."

"Mother was watching me like a hawk," Sirius grumped. "I think Bella's been whispering poisonous nothings in her ear. Too bad they don't actually poison."

"We just have Mum and Dad's school books and some others that are all about healing or defense," Peter's mother worked at St. Mungo's and his father was a Hit Wizard.

"I guess we'll just work on the meditation then," Sirius looked doubtful.

He was right to be so. James fidgeted constantly, unable to stay still for more than a few moments. Peter's leg fell asleep and he ended up hopping around the room trying to get the feeling back and crashing into a table. Sirius just fell asleep, too tired to concentrate after the grueling quidditch practice from that morning.

They were nearly ready to give up, at least until they were all a bit older, when divine intervention in the form of Professor McGonagall... well... intervened during a class later that fall.

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	15. 14: Wolf Pack

**Chapter Fourteen: Wolf Pack**

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Professor McGonagall transformed from her cat to human form in the process from jumping off her desk. Nearly every student there thought to themselves that the cat had looked just as stern as the professor always did. Three students, though, were waiting anxiously to see if their professor would offer anything to help them in their own private studies.

"The Animagus transformation is extremely difficult and very dangerous," Professor McGonagall lectured. "The Ministry keeps a close watch on those attempting the transformation, as it is possible to get trapped in a partial transformation, or in the animal form. Yes, Mr. Potter?"

The whole class turned to look at James, whose hand had been waving high in the air, "How does the Ministry watch for it Professor? I'd think there would be a lot of unregistered animagi."

"You would, Mr. Potter," the class snickered, but James was unruffled. He just smiled innocently. "As the transformation is so difficult to accomplish, those attempting it outside of Ministry guidance are often discovered when they find themselves in the St. Mungo's accidental transfiguration ward.

"You will not find books that detail how the transformation is accomplished in Flourish and Blotts, or in our library here," McGonagall gave them, James in particular, her sternest look. "The transformation is accomplished in a mentor, student situation, usually along with the studies for a Transfiguration Mastery. It is beyond the level of anything you will learn while students under my care."

James never let the smile leave his face. He was already making new plans for their project, no less determined than before they had walked into class that day. He looked sideways to see Sirius was thinking as well, and Remus was avidly taking notes as usual. Peter looked uneasy but James leaned down to reassure Peter that he had a plan. For some reason, that didn't seem to help Peter's disposition.

"You okay Remy?" James was concerned.

It was approaching the full moon and Remus didn't look well. He was jumpy and was snapping at people with little provocation, much more than normal for that time of the month. Instead of Remus restraining James and Sirius from fighting with the Slytherins, all the other Marauders were doing their best to keep Remus as far away from the Slytherins as possible. If he was snapping at his friends they hated, for once, to see what would happen to the Slytherins.

Lily turned in her seat and glared at James for talking during class. Remus wrote something out on a spare scrap of parchment and slid it over to James.

_Eclipse in three days_

_Same day as full moon_

_24 hr. in the Shack_

James just blinked at the note for a moment and then it hit him, the Shrieking Shack. James had overheard his father talking about the Ministry's investigation into the supposed haunting of the broken-down old building on the outskirts of Hogsmeade, and how it was somehow put at the end of a long list of projects, most likely to stay there for ten years or more. Interesting, that James had just solved the mystery. Dumbledore certainly had enough clout to fix something like that.

_Don't worry - we'll cover for you_

James wrote on the other side of the scrap and pushed it back towards Remus, his mind now far away from Arithmancy calculations. After class James pulled Remus aside and they took a quick turn down a corridor that no one ever used. James gave Remus a much more thorough look over than he had before and noticed all sorts of little things. Remus's eyes were almost glowing golden in the dim light, though they usually just leaned towards amber before the full moon. His friend also looked like he had fallen down a flight of stairs and strained multiple muscles. He moved stiffly, as if he was in pain.

James held a hand up to Remus's forehead, like his mother always did when he was feeling ill. Remus was clammy and cool, "Is there anything I can do?"

Remus shook his head, "This... it's never happened to me before. I don't know what will happen. I might not change... but I can feel it trying to get out already."

James just nodded, "Do you want to have dinner in the kitchens, away from all the noise of the hall?"

Remus seemed to relax a bit and James knew he had been bracing himself for the chaos of the great hall. It always grated on Remus's nerves just before and after the full moon, but for some reason everything was worse. James let Remus lead the way. With the work he was constantly doing on the map Remus knew the castle even better than he had before.

Outside the kitchens James tickled the pear and opened the painting. The elves greeted them as cheerfully as always and James signaled for them to be quiet.

"I'm going to get the guys," James told Remus. "We don't want people looking for us. If we're all missing no one will think twice about it." James grinned, "They'll just be a little more careful about what they eat."

Remus just nodded and sat in the blissful quiet. The elves tiptoed around, making exaggerated gestures and whispering to each other, constantly reminding the other elves to be quiet. Remus would have laughed if it wouldn't have insulted them. Instead he just drank the tea they gave him, with lemon and honey, and what Remus thought was a calming draught. House elf magic definitely deserved some study in the future.

James went up to the great hall, talking to various people as he went. Thanks to quidditch and Adam, James knew the majority of the faces in the school. Several students questioned him on the prospects of the Gryffindor team that year and James of course confidently assured them all that Gryffindor was going to win the Cup. His first stop in the great hall was the staff table, rarely approached by students.

All the professors watched as he walked towards them, making a beeline for Madam Pomfrey. He stopped directly in front of her and was glad to see she was sitting with his Head of House on one side and an empty seat on the other.

"Remus isn't feeling well Madam," James said softly, trying to attract as little attention as possible. It was odd for him, as he usually thrived on being the center of attraction. "He's eating downstairs because of the noise. Is there anything you can do?"

Both the nurse and Professor McGonagall looked instantly worried and exchanged a meaningful look. Madam Pomfrey stood, "Come with me Mr. Potter and we'll see what we can do."

Professor McGonagall looked past James and smiled, "Perhaps you should bring two others along Poppy. They're already looking anxious."

James whipped his head around and saw Sirius and Peter at the far end of the Gryffindor table, looking at him curiously and searching the room for Remus. James gave Madam Pomfrey a tight smile and walked as quickly as he could to the other third year Gryffindor boys.

He leaned between them, grabbed a roll off the table, and whispered, "Remus isn't feeling good. He's down in the kitchen. You can finish eating there."

Both his friends jumped up and left the hall as quickly as they could. Despite trying to avoid attention, the quick exit of Madam Pomfrey and three of the four Marauders instantly started rumors about Remus. By the time everyone was safely tucked away in their towers for the evening the whole school would probably be convinced that Remus was deathly ill.

Madam Pomfrey headed towards the hospital wing rather than the kitchens, "I'll meet you three down there. Keep him there until I join you."

She left without any answer, and James felt pride knowing that she just assumed they could take care of things in her absence. The three boys ran to the kitchens, knowing that there was no one to catch them with all the teachers in the great hall for dinner. They hadn't counted on prefects patrolling the halls, though.

"Stop right there!"

The three boys skidding to halt around the corner from the entrance to the kitchens, nearly falling to the floor in a jumble of limbs at the abruptness of their stop.

"What are three Gryffindors doing down here while everyone else is up at dinner," the mocking tone only belonged to one prefect they knew. James turned around and saw the smirk and long blond hair of Lucius Malfoy. "Where is the fourth? Did you lose him somewhere?"

"Our Head of House knows precisely where we are _Malfoy_," Sirius spat the last name out bitterly.

"Does she?" Malfoy said silkily, gesturing with his wand for them all to stand together. "I think each of you will be serving detention tomorrow night."

Peter, who almost never got involved in these confrontations, spoke up, "Yes, she does!"

"Get out of here Malfoy!" Sirius growled. "You're not wanted." James added his own glare to Sirius's.

Malfoy raised a finger and motioned like he was scolding a small child, "Is this the way we speak to prefects?"

"When the prefects overstep their bounds it is!" James said boldly. "We told you McGonagall knows where we are and what we're doing."

Malfoy's smirk widened and he stepped closer, grabbing Sirius's left arm just where the Dark Mark was placed on Death Eaters. It was not common knowledge, but Sirius did not miss the significance. He had caught a glimpse of the Mark on his tutor's arm though he made sure not to let the man know he saw it. Even then, it was possible the man had slipped on purpose and let Sirius see the Mark. He had also seen it in the pensieve.

"Deep down Black, you're one of us and you know it," Malfoy hissed in his ear. "Play in the gutter for a few years and pretend to be righteous and noble. One day you'll be back where you belong. All Blacks are dark, and you are no exception. One way or another you'll join us."

Sirius's expression had changed from anger and arrogance to fury and fear. He shook under Malfoy's grasp and cursed himself for showing that weakness to the older Slytherin. James watched in anger, not able to hear what Malfoy was saying and knowing he couldn't attack a prefect without provocation. Malfoy had to hex or curse first.

None of them heard Remus emerge from the kitchens as they were absorbed in their own confrontation. Malfoy froze when a wand tip pressed the back of his neck.

"Release him," Remus said in an authoritative voice. Malfoy dropped Sirius's arm and Sirius backed away. Malfoy turned to face Remus and Remus circled him to stand in front of his friends, wand still raised and held steadily out. Malfoy turned in place with him. "You go too far Malfoy. Leave my friends alone."

Malfoy smirked with the assurance that very few under wand point could muster, "Why, precisely, should I do that?"

Remus moved quickly, his motions too fast for Malfoy to protect against. He backed the prefect against a wall and stood nose to nose with him. With Remus's added height over the summer there were only inches of difference between them. Remus was just slightly shorter, but his presence at that moment more than made up for it. He was radiating power, "Because I will do anything within my power to protect them from you and your _associates_."

For just a moment, through the haze of the wolf that was guiding his actions, Remus thought he saw fear flash in Malfoy's ice blue eyes. If Malfoy made another move against Sirius, Remus could have attacked him with his bare hands right there. As it was he was barely in control and moments away from punching the smirk off the Slytherin's face, and probably breaking his jaw in the process. He felt James, Sirius, and Peter all trying to get him to back off, to let Malfoy go. Remus stayed planted firmly in place, though, staring directly into Malfoy's eyes.

"Mr. Lupin!" Madam Pomfrey's voice called from down the hall. "Mr. Malfoy!"

The control of the wolf was mostly broken and Remus stepped back. Malfoy dusted himself off, sneered at Remus, and strode down the hall away from the nurse. Remus could still feel the wolf straining to get out, hear the heartbeats of everyone standing there. Touch was like fire as his friends guided him back into the kitchens. There was the tingle of magic being cast nearby but he couldn't identify the spell.

Once inside Remus turned swiftly, ignoring everything but Sirius. His senses reached out to check his friend for injury, examining him with eyes, hands, and nose. He lifted Sirius's sleeve to see slight bruising, which prompted Madam Pomfrey to reach into a pocket and pull out a salve to rub on the newly forming bruises. Satisfied that Sirius was safe and relatively unharmed Remus twitched, sat down on a bench, and buried his head in his arms, shaking all over.

"What was that about Mr. Black?" Madam Pomfrey demanded.

Sirius was shaken. He had seen Remus with his senses working almost eerily well. He had seen him sick after a transformation. He had seen him irritable and excitable just before the full moon and teased him that he had PMS, Pre-Moon Syndrome. Sirius had never seen the wolf break out though, and it had broken out to protect _him_.

"I'm not sure Madam," Sirius didn't bother looking at the nurse. His eyes were fixed on the shaking werewolf. It had unnerved him when Remus had inspected him just moments ago. He had once seen a mother do the same thing after her child had fallen out of a tree in the park near his house. "Remy?"

Sirius sat on the bench next to Remus and tentatively touched his back. Remus reacted instantly and hugged Sirius, burying his face in Sirius's robes, breathing like he had just run a marathon. James sat down on the other side of Remus and added his comfort. Sirius saw Peter hesitate and remembered how scared he had been of Remus at first. The small boy joined the others though, standing behind Remus and putting his arms around James and Sirius and resting his forehead on top of Remus's head, enfolding Remus completely.

Poppy Pomfrey crossed to the far side of the kitchen where the house elves were gathered, knowing instinctually that the boys needed privacy. She took one elf aside, one that had been to the hospital wing frequently with meals for Remus and sent a message with the elf to the headmaster. When the headmaster had told her there would be a werewolf attending the school she had read everything she could find on them, including the entries in some journals only available to medical professionals. Luckily she had prepared herself for something like this happening.

When she returned the boys were all sitting up again, with the exception of the Pettigrew boy who stood behind Remus, and none of them were speaking. She sat down across from them and passed three vials to Remus, who drank them down without question or comment. The shaking started again, but no amount of calming potion would be able to get through to him. Poppy had observed how close these four boys were and until Remus was convinced that all of them were safe his body would resist any number of potions or spells... and that wouldn't happen in the kitchen of Hogwarts.

"Did Mr. Malfoy cause those bruises Mr. Black?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

Sirius supposed it was a safe assumption, but the hospital matron said it with such assurance that he was surprised. He nodded.

"I couldn't stop it," Remus said softly.

"I know Remus," Madam Pomfrey looked at the shaking Gryffindor with pity. James, Sirius, and Peter felt out of place, like they were missing something of importance. "There was nothing you could do."

"Perhaps we should," James had half-risen out of his seat when Remus grabbed his robes and pulled him back down.

"No," Remus said firmly, almost growling. "Don't you dare leave me right now."

A house elf approached Madam Pomfrey with a note. She opened it, read it quickly, and looked at the four boys with a small smile, "Mr. Lupin you are excused from classes for the remainder of the week. I will not force you to spend the rest of the week with me, but I advise you to confine yourself to your room. Your friends can bring your assignments and the house elves will make sure you are fed. Don't bother to serve any detentions Mr. Malfoy just gave you. That one goes for all of you."

Remus nodded and stood up, his friends following him, a little surprised and more than a little confused. Tension still had his every nerve tingling and his senses more active than they ever had been. He saw Madam Pomfrey give James a supply of potions for him. None of them would work until they were in their room, in essence their den.

He took a series of short cuts through passages behind tapestries, paintings, and statues. Some of them he hadn't known existed until he turned down them, but he sensed them in the walls and the direction they turned, possibly from the flow of the air or something similar. A little part of his mind that was somehow still functional made a note of each new passage for recording on the map.

James brought up the rear as they almost ran up to the tower. Remus was walking so fast Peter had to jog behind Sirius to keep up. They paused outside Gryffindor Tower and whatever potions Madam Pomfrey had given Remus were starting to take effect. The sandy haired boy was no longer radiating power. He looked fragile and tired, ready to collapse any moment as he leaned against the wall next to the Fat Lady's portrait.

"My, my, my," The Fat Lady greeted them, "he certainly looks like death warmed over. The rumors that I've heard..."

"Sloth Roll," Sirius said loudly, interrupting her.

"Hmph," The Fat Lady swung open a little faster than usual, mad at being denied fresh gossip.

James put an arm around Remus and encouraged the boy to lean against him, thankful for his quidditch training. Remus was thin, but he was a few inches taller than James and the thin frame was covered in ropy muscle. Sirius and Peter ran interference, in the form of hexes to the displeasure of most of the spectators, as James helped Remus up to their room and into his bed. Sirius and Peter came in behind them and closed and locked the door. James cast a silencing spell for good measure, having learned them from Adam and his friends.

Remus sat with his knees pulled up to his chest. The others joined him on the bed and settled around him. Remus couldn't think of how to approach this. He had been so close to hurting Malfoy, capable of killing or maiming him in that moment if he had actually _hurt_ Sirius any more than he already had. His friends didn't know that much but they needed to know. They had to be careful.

"In my trunk," Remus said in a commanding voice, directing his words at Sirius, "there are some books about werewolves that aren't in the library."

Sirius nodded and slipped off the bed. Even James was fidgeting less than normal, waiting quietly for Remus to talk, most likely using a great deal of restraint. When Sirius returned with a few books Remus picked one, _Werewolves of Great Britain_, the only one in English, and opened to the right page. He handed it to Sirius and pointed to a particular paragraph, "Read."

_"The werewolf is in most cases a solitary creature," _Remus winced at the word and James scooted closer, leaning against him. _"This is due in part to the nature of a werewolf, which is reclusive and hesitant to trust. There is also a societal shunning of werewolves, making it difficult for them to find work and housing. Most werewolves leave this country to live in societies with fewer restrictions and prejudices."_

Remus closed his eyes for a moment and Peter moved closer as well, leaning on Remus's other side. Remus had never really discussed being a werewolf with anyone other than these three. After the bite all these books had just started appearing all over the house and Remus found out what he needed to know from them for the most part. His parents talked about blocking his senses, maintaining his control, but not about the wolf.

Sirius paused and looked up. Remus nodded for him to keep reading, _"There are cases when a werewolf will find deep friendship with full humans, most often wizards who are either unaware of the wolf within or are able to look beyond the curse. When this does happen the werewolf will form a pack, subject to the behavior and structure of a pack of true wolves in the wild, with or without the consent..."_

"Are we...?" Sirius left the question only partially formed.

Remus knew James and Peter, still leaning against him, were looking up as well to hear the answer. Remus nodded, "That's why I went after Malfoy."

Sirius blinked in confusion, "I've gotten into plenty of fights and you've never done anything like that before."

"It wasn't that," Remus struggled to put the wolf's feelings into words. "You can take care of yourself, I _know_ that. The wolf knows that. I don't have to protect you from every little thing. It was... you were scared, almost panicked... and I couldn't let him... I could _smell_ it..." Remus was getting angry again just thinking about it. He wanted to hunt Malfoy down. He wanted to... James held a vial to his mouth and Remus drank it, feeling his control slowly return. By then he had swallowed enough calming potion to knock a normal wizard unconscious and his nerves were still humming.

Once again Remus was faced with what he was, what he almost did, "Please... please be careful. I couldn't control myself. I can't, I physically _can't_ actually hurt any of you, but if any of you are in real danger the wolf is going to protect you." Hot tears rolled down his cheeks and Remus was ashamed. He wanted to push his friends away but he needed them there, "I'm not human. I'm a dangerous dark creature. You don't see... you don't know..."

"Shut up Remus," Sirius said firmly, glaring. "So there's some darkness in you... it's in me too, in _my_ blood. You can do more damage than us without a wand, but don't think for a second that I wouldn't protect you with everything I know, dark or light, if you were in trouble."

"So would I," Peter said quietly.

James added, "Marauder Code 1: Marauders stick together. The words are different but it means the same. We're a pack, no matter how you say it."

The four of them stayed huddled together through the night, mostly sharing stories and just being together. Each one of them thought at least once that night how like a pack they really were, sleeping all piled together like wolves. Remus stayed in their room all the next day, mostly pacing like a caged animal, and Sirius, James, and Peter were tight-lipped regarding anything to do with Remus's health. Any questions from other students, no matter what house they were in, were met with only a glare. Their room was kept locked and warded. The third year Gryffindor girls were taken aback by their behavior more than anyone else in the school and Lily Evans was nearly fuming as Remus was her friend too.

They all knew long before then that they were an oddly close group of friends, but now they had the words to describe it. All three of his friends escorted Remus under the invisibility cloak to the hospital wing before dawn on the day of the eclipse. Remus entered the wing alone, but knowing his pack was just outside.

"It's weird you know," James commented when they got back to their room. He looked out the window in their room which commanded a view of the Shrieking Shack and thought of Remus.

Sirius folded the cloak and put it away carefully in James's trunk. They never locked their trunks. He also grabbed a spare winter cloak, as his was getting too short. They had started borrowing clothes from each other without bothering to ask during first year, though they all knew better than to get Remus's clothes messy and to return them exactly where they found them, "What is?"

"Us, all of us," James turned his back to the window and leaned against the sill. "Me and Peter, our dads work in the Ministry, fighting You-Know-Who, you and Remus, dark family and dark creature. It balances."

Peter went to the werewolf books that were still out, "Remus reads French?"

"His mum went to Beauxbaton, remember?" Sirius said with a yawn. It was way too early to be awake. "I think he was born there."

"That makes sense," James was thinking hard, remembering some conversations he overheard and the lessons on werewolves. "I don't think the Ministry knows about Remus." Both Sirius and Peter looked up in surprise. "Think about it. If the Ministry knew my dad would know. The school board probably doesn't even know. Malfoy's father is on the board. If he knew, Malfoy would know, and the whole school would know. Dumbledore probably only told a select few people on the staff, only the ones who have to know like McGonagall, Pomfrey, Fenwick, and Ayre."

Sirius nodded, "If he lived in France when he was bitten the French Ministry would know, but Ministries don't share their records much. That's why so many Death Eaters live on their properties abroad." Sirius smiled mischievously, "I bet Remus was on the books for Beauxbaton, but they couldn't take him, so Headmistress Maxime talked to Dumbledore. She's half-giant like Hagrid. I heard Mother and her friends talking about her. They had considered sending Andromeda, Bellatrix, and Narcissa there as it's more refined, like a finishing school, teaching etiquette and stuff, but they prefer Dumbledore to a half-breed."

Peter had put away the books in French and was leafing through the one in English, not really paying attention to James and Sirius and their theories. There was a section on werewolf health and Peter started to read. It took James and Sirius several minutes to notice Peter had gone deathly pale. When they checked why he pointed shakily to the book.

_The youngest known survivor of a werewolf bite in Great Britain was sixteen years old when she was bitten. All younger victims were either too gravely injured by the attack or died in their first transformation. As the human body is not built for the stresses of the werewolf transformation, a werewolf will experience gradually failing health. No werewolf has been known to live more than twenty years following the bite. The sixteen year old survivor died of heart failure during a transformation at age thirty._

"He was four," Sirius whispered in awe.

"It was his dad," James realized. "He said his dad saved him. He must have killed the werewolf during the attack."

Sirius was possessed with a sudden need to know, to understand. He grabbed the book and started flipping through the section, searching.

"Sirius?" Peter asked.

"What are the signs?" Sirius said as he searched.

"What signs?" James questioned. They already knew Remus was a werewolf.

Sirius threw the book down in angry frustration, "It said gradually failing health, living no more than twenty years. That means most die before that. That girl only lived fourteen years. It's been nine already. He can't die. I don't want him to die!"

"We'll think of something Siri, I swear it," James said with conviction. "No werewolf lived more than twenty years, but no werewolf ever had us for his pack."

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	16. 15: The Eclipse

**Chapter Fifteen: The Eclipse**

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Most of the students saw the day of the eclipse as a holiday. Nearly the entire school spent the day outside in the crisp late October air. They had to chart the progress of the moon as it transited the sun. Some of the advanced potions students, those who had the potential to become Potions Masters, Snape included, were in the dungeons taking advantage of the event to learn some potions that could only be brewed in such conditions. The seventh and sixth year N.E.W.T. Divination students were to make whatever predictions the auspicious astronomical occurrence prompted.

Three staff members kept an eye on the three Gryffindor third year boys that sat outside looking very tired and very serious. Five of the six individuals would glance towards Hogsmeade, in the general direction of the Shrieking Shack, with a worried look on their face. Professor Dumbledore managed to keep his constant look of vague amusement. The missing Gryffindor was easy to hide with the number of students outside. Astronomy Professor Spectre was told that the boy was ill, a statement supported by the recent rumors that only increased with the refusal of his roommates to say a word in support or refute.

Each student had a protective charm cast on their eyes by Professors Flitwick and McGonagall as they filed outside that morning that allowed them to look directly at the sun and take measurements with their telescopes. It took a moment to adjust between the telescope and looking anywhere else. James rubbed his eyes as he opened them after adjustments to the telescope from which Peter reported several readings to Sirius. They were alternating jobs, as were the majority of the other students sitting outside.

Sirius passed the parchment to Peter and took James's seat by the telescope. He glanced towards Hogsmeade for perhaps the tenth time that morning, "I hope he's okay."

"What do you suppose it's like?" Peter asked.

James shivered, even though the sun on their black cloaks was nicely hot, "He told me it hurts. We've seen what it does. I don't even want to imagine."

"There has to be some way we can make it work!" Sirius grumbled. He looked at his friends and thought hard. He dropped his voice to a low conspiratorial tone, "Professor McGonagall said that Flourish and Blotts and the library wouldn't have the books we want. This summer I'm going down Knockturn Alley."

"Sirius!" James said in shock. "That's practically crawling with Death Eaters."

Sirius raised his eyebrows, "That's why you two aren't going. I have to be able to use my surname for _something_. I'm not in any danger there. They won't attack a _Black._"

The third year Gryffindors with their heads leaned close together was never a good thing, so it was no surprise when their Head of House, who was patrolling with the other professors, made her way over to where they were sitting by the edge of the lake. When her shadow fell over them all three boys looked up.

"How are things over here?" McGonagall questioned them.

James glanced towards Hogsmeade and told what essentially the truth was, "We're worried."

She looked at them for several minutes before her expression softened, "There is a monitoring spell on him today. As Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey are both out here I can assure you he is no worse than usual. It is entirely possible that he is sleeping or counting ceiling cracks."

Sirius smiled, "Nah. He'd be figuring out how to change the spell that fixes the ceiling cracks so they all got fixed together."

"Or he'd be building a reflector so he can chart the progress of the moon so he won't miss out on doing any class work," James grinned.

Peter laughed at their assessments of Remus's character, "He could be using Arithmancy to see if there's a way to ward the ceiling against further cracks once they're fixed."

"Keep working," Professor McGonagall instructed them with a tight smile. "You will see him first thing tomorrow morning. I do not want to catch a single one of you out of bed tonight. Is that clear?"

"Crystal clear Ma'am," James replied.

"Yes Ma'am," Sirius and Peter answered and nodded.

Minerva McGonagall did not for one second believe that Remus Lupin was bored inside the Shrieking Shack, or that his roommates would stay in bed that night. Poppy had been feeling tingles from her spell ever since the transit started and was getting anxious. Twice already Poppy had sent a house elf to listen outside the door of Remus's transformation room and had not been comforted by the reports she received. After lunch Minerva would insist on transferring the monitoring spell from Poppy to her, or neither of them would rest.

Remus knew the instant the transit started. The tension that heralded the rising of the full moon was there, and nearly exploded as the moon began to cross the sun. He felt like he was stuck at the earliest stages of transformation, like his muscles were trying to change but his bones and tendons were refusing.

The pain was bad. On nights of the full moon he only felt it for ten minutes at most when the moon rose and then again in the morning when it set. This had been going for half an hour and he had hours yet to go. He couldn't remember how long the transit was supposed to last. He could only barely remember his own name. It would make it all easier if he let go and let the wolf take over, but Remus would never give himself over to the beast voluntarily. He would hold onto his human self as long as possible.

He paced the floor, sometimes upright and sometimes on all fours. It all depended on the progress of the battle between muscle and bone. In the fury sparked by pain he threw furniture against the walls, breaking the chairs and tables into thousands of splinters. He ripped apart the bedding and mattress with hands and teeth. His incisors lengthened and his eyes glowed. The hair on his head grew but the new hairs did not sprout. He was thankful there was no mirror. He did not want to see himself stuck between boy and wolf.

By the path of the shadows on the floor Remus estimated it was perhaps an hour after lunch at the castle when the pain grew to be too much and his human mind retreated into the inner darkness and let the wolf take over.

"It changed," Minerva reported to Poppy. "Have you monitored him before?"

Poppy nodded, "His first time here. Can you still feel the tingle?"

"Yes," Minerva replied, knowing that the tingle meant he was still in pain.

"He's been fighting it the whole morning," Poppy looked strained. She looked to the third year Gryffindor boys. After Minerva had spoken to them they looked not only towards Hogsmeade, but also at the headmaster and Poppy herself. So Poppy had put on fake smiles all day to reassure them. Three worried thirteen year old boys were more than she could handle.

It was lucky there were no flying lessons, exploding cauldrons, or biting plants and creatures that day. With the staff mingling around the grounds it was highly unlikely any fights would break out. It was bad enough that she was carrying around the guilt of altering Lucius Malfoy's memory of the encounter by the kitchen. Poppy's concentration was all on one boy just then.

Minerva winced, "How does a wild animal react to pain?"

The question needed no answer.

When the full moon rose Madam Pomfrey took the monitoring charm back. She did not know how the transformation would affect Remus after that day. It was just before the moon set that she started for the Shrieking Shack, though she normally waited for sunrise. That morning she wanted to get Remus out of there and into the hospital wing as quickly as possible.

When she knew for certain it was safe she opened the room in the Shrieking Shack and saw that it was truly a mess, as though a battle had been fought inside. Remus was lying unconscious, twisted and bleeding, in the midst of the broken furniture and sundry. Rather than bring him immediately back to the school Poppy cast several healing spells in the shack. She spelled hospital pajamas onto him to preserve his dignity, levitated the boy, and Disillusioned him.

The instant Remus was lying on his private bed in the hospital wing, with the outer doors locked, Madam Pomfrey called the headmaster through the Floo system for help in healing her most frequent patient.

The Marauders had their early breakfast in the kitchens and hurried upstairs to see the fourth of their number. As soon as they found the doors to the hospital wing locked they knew something was wrong. Madam Pomfrey had left them open every month once she realized the Marauders would be there knocking until she opened them. They knocked just a few times, knowing Madam Pomfrey heard them, and that she would open the doors for them as soon as she could.

"The doors are locked?" James, Sirius, and Peter all jumped at the voice of their Head of House. James, as representative of the group, nodded. Professor McGonagall gave them each a look that spoke volumes, "Wait here. I will be out in a moment."

The Deputy Headmistress unlocked the hospital wing doors quietly, not allowing the Marauders to hear the particular spell that worked on them, and disappeared for only a few minutes before coming back. She signaled for the Marauders to follow her and led them towards Remus's regular room.

"It looks worse than it is," Professor McGonagall warned them. "Because of his condition he heals abnormally well. In a few days he will be perfectly fine."

On the other side of the door Remus was wrapped nearly from head to toe in white gauze.

"Professor?" Peter asked hesitantly.

"Yes, Mr. Pettigrew?" McGonagall prompted.

"We were reading one of Remus's books... and lots of what we read before about werewolves is wrong... have any lived more than twenty years?" Peter looked hopefully at his professor, along with James and Sirius.

"I truly do not know," Professor McGonagall said with a sigh. "Every study that has been done involved registered werewolves. There are many more unregistered than registered, and the population of registered werewolves is not large enough for an adequate statistical study. It is possible that Mr. Lupin will outlive us all."

_Andromeda,_

_Sorry for writing you. I know you don't want anything to do with the family anymore, but I don't know who else to talk to._

_How did you do it? How did you stay sane and get away? I don't know if I can do it. Between Mother and Malfoy and Bellatrix and summer dark arts lessons I'm not sure what I can do. They're all determined for me to be a real Black and I don't want it!_

_Please at least write back Andromeda. I just need to know if I'm dreaming, if it's even possible to be a light Black. James calls me the white sheep of the family but I don't know if such a thing really exists._

_I'm sorry for reminding you._

_Sirius_

It was with a shaky hand that Sirius tied the letter to Boudicca's leg, "Bring this to Andromeda Tonks, girl."

The answer he got back was not what he expected. In truth he hadn't expected any response. Remus leaned over his shoulder at breakfast that morning to see what it was that managed to keep Sirius from eating.

_Hogsmeade, turn-stile, Friday at 4. Don't worry._

_AT_

"Your cousin?" Remus asked. It was Thursday morning. He had fully recovered from the combined eclipse and full moon, despite nearly eviscerating himself. Madam Pomfrey had some trouble with all the splinters, but the Marauders eventually just joked that it was a good thing he was a werewolf and not a vampire. Remus knew he would never have to go through that again, as the next occurrence would certainly be after he was long dead. As long as he had lived through that stretch of twenty-four hours he was sure he could live through anything.

Sirius nodded. He was searching his mind for a way to sneak out to Hogsmeade.

"I'm glad you wrote to her," Remus said, still leaning close. Ever since the boggart he had been trying to convince Sirius to write to the cousin that had escaped the family. Sirius had confided in Remus that he had felt the urge more than once to use his dark arts knowledge against his cousins, Snape, and Malfoy, as with it he knew he could shut them up. Sirius needed reassurance, and there was probably only one person who could give it.

James was talking with Tim Spinnet about the upcoming quidditch game and Remus was struck by sudden inspiration. He nudged James under the table, and passed him the note from Andromeda, his eyes darting to Tim. James turned his attention to his food, still talking with Tim, and dropped a fork. He bent down to pick it up, read the note, and grinned at Remus when he sat back up.

Sirius saw James whispering to Tim and smiled at Remus, "I wonder if McGonagall's allowed to make both prefects girls."

"I only break rules for a good cause," Remus said loftily.

Peter laughed and leaned over from where he had been talking to the girls, "or for a good prank."

"...or for a good snack," James added. "I've got a new one to add."

Remus couldn't help the smile that crossed his face, wondering when the rules had really stopped meaning so much. The school rules had ended up divided into two categories, the rules that were important like no cheating and no harming others and the others like curfew and no dueling that were flexible.

What did curfew matter when he had a project like the map to complete? How could they pay attention to a rule about dueling when there were Slytherins trying to recruit them to serve a dark wizard? He had bouts of extreme guilt, as Dumbledore was really risking a lot to give Remus an education, but he always found a justification for whatever rule he was about to break. That time, his pack was more important than any rule.

After Ancient Runes on Friday James, Remus, and Sirius hurried down to the statue of the one-eyed witch. Peter was waiting for them and took up his position at one end of the corridor. James handed the invisibility cloak to Remus and stood at the other end of the hall. If Remus and Sirius weren't back in one hour James would come after them. If all went well they would all show up in the great hall for dinner together.

Sirius tapped the statue with his wand, _Dissendium_. Remus wrapped them in the invisibility cloak and they left. James and Peter left their posts and sat with their backs against the statue, working on the homework for Care of Magical Creatures. If a prefect or professor showed up at any time they would talk loudly enough to be heard on the other side.

The passage brought Sirius and Remus to the basement of Honeydukes. Together under the cloak they crept up the stairs and carefully opened the door. There were customers in the store, but not many. They waited until someone left and followed them out. Only then did they break into a run towards the end of town. As they got nearer they saw a woman waiting at the turnstile with a small child, maybe two years old.

When they got near they ducked to the side of a building and took off the cloak.

"Andromeda?" Sirius asked as they approached the pair. "Andy?"

The woman hugged Sirius tightly, "Oh Siri, I always hoped you would get away."

Sirius returned the hug and Remus knelt down by the little girl, "Hi I'm Remus."

"I'm Nym... Nympa... Nympha," the girl stuttered over her name and Remus stepped back when her hair turned bright pink.

"That's Nymphadora," Andromeda Tonks said. The girl beamed up at her mother and her hair returned to its original mousy brown. "We think she's a metamorphmagus."

She took Remus's hand, "Mum, this is my frien' Remu."

The two teenagers and the mother laughed and Remus shook Andromeda's hand, "Remus Lupin. I already know who you are."

"I'm so proud of you Sirius," Andromeda smiled at her cousin. "Write me whenever you need to. If you're ever in big trouble at home there's a portrait of Phineas Nigellus in one of the guest bedrooms. He was a Hogwarts headmaster once, so he has another portrait in Dumbledore's office."

"Andy, did your mum ever make you look in the pensieve?" Sirius asked, a painful look on his face.

Andromeda brushed back Sirius's hair in a very motherly gesture, "Oh Siri, was it that day... when Bella caught you with the muggles? You were so hurt after."

Sirius nodded miserably, "I don't want to be one of them Andy."

"Let's go talk Siri," Andromeda looked at her cousin with pity, and then turned back to Remus. "Will you look after Dora for a minute? I don't want her to hear any of this."

"No problem," Remus answered. "We'll be fine, right?"

"Right!" Nymphadora declared and sat down on the grass next to the dirt path.

Remus sat down next to her and Sirius walked away with his cousin. Remus could see them in the distance, sitting on a rock and talking. He turned back to the little girl.

"Do you go ta Hoggerts?" she asked him, but never waited for an answer. "I go when I gwow up an' learn magic! You do magic?"

"Yes I can," Remus pulled out his wand and showed it to her. "I can... turn this rock into a turtle." Remus flicked his wand and the rock transformed and started walking away.

Nymphadora clapped and picked up the turtle, examining it. She put it down and let it walk for a while before picking it up and putting it back where it started. She entertained herself that way for at least twenty minutes, but lost interest and started pulling up grass and piling it in front of her.

"Do more!" she ordered.

Remus smiled and pointed his wand at himself. He cast the Jelly-Legs Hex and showed her his legs wiggling like there was no bone, and then cast the counter and his legs straightened out with a 'snap'. Nymphadora shrieked and giggled as Remus performed a succession of curses and their counters on himself, giving himself boils, turning his hair and skin purple, and many others.

"Ah, babysitting by hex," Andromeda observed when they returned, "a tried and true method."

Remus smiled up at Sirius and his cousin and removed the Bat Bogey Hex, "Ready for dinner Sirius?"

"Starved," Sirius smiled back. "How come I can't hex you?"

"Code 4: No hexing without just provocation," Remus quoted from the Marauder Code of Conduct, having memorized it for just such a question. His quotations often sent the other Marauders scrambling to their copies and looking up the code Remus had referenced to double check him. "Our hour's almost up. Let's go before James comes running into town cursing everything that moves. It was nice to meet you Andromeda."

"Andy, Remus," she said with a smile. She looked somewhat like her sister Narcissa but with a much nicer disposition.

When Remus stood Nymphadora held her hands in the air to him. He swept her up into hug, "It was wonderful making your acquaintance fair Nymphadora."

Andromeda took her daughter from Remus, "Say good-bye to Remus and Cousin Siri."

The little girl waved, "Bye Remu! Bye Siri!" She giggled when they disappeared under the invisibility cloak.

They came back out from the one-eyed witch just as James was getting ready to chase after them. Dinner that night had all four Marauders in excellent moods. When it was announced during dinner that the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year was the next day the Marauders exchanged glances and tried their best not to start laughing. They lost that battle when they got a letter addressed by crayon to _'Siri and Remu'_ in a large uneven scrawl.

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	17. 16: Xmas Collaboration, Raven Friends

**Chapter Sixteen: Christmas Collaboration or Ravenclaw Friends**

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"This blows," James remarked as he read the letter from his parents.

"What?" Peter questioned him. The Potters must have either scolded James for getting trouble for his latest prank or sent some bad news.

"Dad pulled holiday duty this year," James frowned. "Mum said I might as well stay here because she's not throwing the usual parties with him at work."

"Looks like another Marauder Christmas at Hogwarts," Remus said cheerfully. "We can all go to the Manor next year James. I wouldn't be able to go this year anyway. It was either home or Hogwarts."

"How come?" Peter asked, knowing that Remus could Floo to the Manor now. He had taken full advantage of the situation to get help with his summer homework.

"It's on Boxing Day this year," Remus said with a meaningful look. The other Marauders all showed looks of sudden comprehension.

Sirius yawned, "What have we got this morning?"

"It's December Siri!" Remus punched his arm lightly. "You should know your schedule by now!" He wrinkled his nose as something foul assaulted his senses. "What is that?"

"Huh?" James asked. His attention was drawn by a minor commotion where the first years were sitting. "What are they doing?"

Word eventually got them through a second year girl named MacDonald. She left her spot at the table to sit by the third year girls, "It's disgusting. Someone bet Davey Gudgeon he wouldn't drink that awful stuff they mixed up with all the condiments and other stuff on the table. He drank it all in one go and now he'll probably be sick."

Word got around Gryffindor Tower, and subsequently the whole school, that first year Gryffindor Davey Gudgeon would do almost any dare, would take nearly any bet, and would attempt to meet any challenge. He was seen trying to befriend Caretaker Pringle's pet ferret that had a tendency to bite. The whole school saw him sit at the Slytherin table for dinner one night, until the staff decided to remind him which House he was a member of before he was hexed into oblivion.

The whole castle was in a festive mood as Christmas approached. With access to Zonko's the jokes the Marauders played had increased in both quality and frequency. The Gryffindors all knew to avoid food of dubious origin, making everyone's gifts of cookies or brownies from home completely safe from hungry housemates. They were even considering stepping things up a notch and pranking a professor or two, but Remus had balked at that idea from Sirius and James. Peter had also seemed nervous and Sirius and James decided not to try to convince both of them. They might come around with time.

CRASH!

A table cracked and broke and everyone in the Gryffindor Common Room whipped their heads around to see what caused it. There was a group of first and second years all crowded around the broken table and the upper years all groaned and came to the same conclusion. Davey Gudgeon was pulling another stunt.

"And I used to think you four were a constant headache," a seventh year prefect commented to the Marauders as he passed them to investigate.

"Hey!" Sirius stood and yelled after him. "We're still a headache!"

Remus, James, and Peter laughed at their indignant friend. Remus yanked on Sirius's robes to get him to sit down again, "Getting competition from a first year Siri?"

Sirius pouted, "What did he do this time anyway?"

Yvonne leaned over from the table she was working at, "You guys must have been really absorbed. He was levitating himself with Wingardium Leviosa. He must have lost concentration."

Remus shook his head, "What was the bet?"

"I think he had to touch the ceiling," Karen, a fourth year, answered.

"That kid is never going to graduate," Remus commented and the Marauders went to work, only looking up again to see a prefect dragging Davey out of the Common Room by the arm, probably off to see Madam Pomfrey yet again. "I think he might spend more time in the hospital wing than I do."

"Remus," James whispered as though imparting sage information, "no one spends more time in the hospital wing than you."

"Back to the topic at hand?" Sirius said with some impatience.

Remus laughed, "Any excuse to get out of homework, but when it's prank planning Sirius is Mr. Taskmaster."

Peter looked over the parchment in front of him, "Are you sure this will work?"

"Of course it will!" Remus answered confidently. "I've been over it ten times at least. I can't find a single problem."

"Okay, so we set it up tonight?" James's eyes lit up with excitement and he changed the position he was sitting in yet again.

Sirius echoed the excitement and nodded, "Tonight."

"How did you get the password to the Slytherin Common Room?" Remus asked James warily.

"A gentleman never tells," James said with an aloof look.

All three faces looking at him scrunched up. Sirius made fake gagging motions, "Ew! James, a Slytherin? The only one remotely good looking is Cissy and that's... just... urg!"

James started laughing, "I never said that! I was just measuring the dungeons for _someone,_" James looked pointedly at Remus, who just smiled, "and I overheard it. I got you good though!"

Sirius swiped at James's arm and James jumped out of the way, tipping over his chair. Sirius lunged and all four Marauders instantly pulled their wands only to be stopped by a yell from at least five different people, "Not in the Common Room!"

The prefects had long ago given up on stopping the Marauders from hexing and cursing each other, but every time they started up any Gryffindor who saw was officially allowed to order them out of the Common Room. The prefects decided they could mess up their room all they wanted. After all, they were the ones that had to live in it. The rest of the tower had no idea that the house elves were always more than happy to repair the messes made by their Gryffindor friends.

James took the pause in action to run up to their room, followed closely by Sirius. Peter and Remus packed up the books and papers all of them had out and left the Common Room with a wave to the other Gryffindors. Several heads shook in their direction and multiple chuckles were heard.

_Petrificus Totalis!_ Remus paralyzed both dark-haired Marauders as he entered the room with Peter. "You two are going to exhaust yourselves and we need you awake tonight."

He unfroze them and they pouted, their fun disrupted. Neither of them were about to argue with Remus though. The whole school might see James as the ringleader of their group, with Sirius close behind, but all four Marauders knew that Remus was the alpha wolf. He didn't exercise his authority often but when he did speak they all listened.

"What did you and your dad used to do for Christmas Remus?" Peter asked.

James held up a hand at Remus, "Wait, let me guess. They read books, played chess, and did Arithmancy equations."

"Actually," Remus rolled his eyes at James, "my dad didn't know I was reading his Arithmancy books until last summer. The full moon is right around Christmas every other year or so and that stopped us from doing much. We went to Paris a few times though, and Egypt once. Dad loves France. The museums are brilliant, and the food is amazing."

"Why did you leave then?" Peter asked innocently. Sirius shot him a glare and he gave him a 'What did I do now?' look.

"Dad didn't want to be there after Maman left us," Remus closed his eyes, remembering the move. From what he remembered, his mother had become very distant almost immediately after the bite and he was surprised she stayed as long as she had. "I was only seven so he didn't really explain it all, and I've never asked. There are things we just don't talk about."

James cuffed Peter on the back of his head and then flopped down on Peter's bed, "So how come you never go home for Christmas? I wouldn't mind a trip to Paris or Egypt or something."

"Madam Pomfrey is here," Remus replied and stretched out on his bed, rolling onto his back. "Her potions make it ten times better and the Shack is actually an improvement from what I have at home."

"Well, so long as we're banished we might as well get some work done," James rolled off Peter's bed and headed to his own. "Want to work on those transfigurations Petey?"

"Yes and don't call me that!" Peter grabbed his wand and followed James to a corner where a sock was quickly transformed to a practice tortoise.

"Did you get started on Ancient Runes?" Sirius asked Remus.

Remus gave his friends an exasperated look, "It's due tomorrow, and no, you can't copy!"

"Aw, Remy, please!" Sirius pouted and batted his eyelashes.

Remus glared, "I'm not one of your fan girls. I'll help you, but you're doing the work!"

"Yes, sir!" Sirius saluted.

The great hall of Hogwarts was filled with laughter on the first day of end of term exams. If it was not required to attend meals, it was highly likely that the Slytherin table would have been completely empty. As it was the Slytherins were all glaring at the Gryffindor table, and several of them were glaring at the Marauders in particular. It was well known in Gryffindor that if a prank of that magnitude had been pulled, it was the four third year boys behind it. Gryffindors protected their own though, so no one outside the House knew with any certainty. Several people had a good guess, though.

Every Slytherin had a large lion's head on the back of their robes, which would open its mouth and roar silently at irregular intervals. It only got worse though. Zonko's sold candies that made the consumer emit various animal noises. The Marauders had melted down a few dozen of the candies and snuck them into the pumpkin juice at the Slytherin table, making several students roar before some of them discovered the juice was tainted and spread the word.

The Marauders were consequently in fine spirits as they left the great hall, James and Remus for their Arithmancy exam, Peter for Divination, and Sirius for the common room. Just before they split to go their separate ways, though, they were intercepted by their Head of House, wearing a particularly stern look.

"Step into my office gentlemen," McGonagall ordered.

The Marauders exchanged nervous looks and took seats across from their professor's desk. They all attempted to adopt innocent, confused expressions, but Remus was the only one who succeeded. James and Sirius just looked as though they were moments away from laughter and Peter looked mildly constipated.

"Though I have no proof I am entirely aware that the four of you are responsible for today's display at the Slytherin table," she looked at them each in turn and despite the fact that she clearly disapproved Remus could have sworn he saw just a hint of amusement in her eyes. "As there is no proof I cannot punish you, but you are being watched. Be careful boys. An amusing joke in the eyes of one is a serious insult in the eyes of another. Make sure you do not cross that line. Now, don't be late for your exams."

The four of them stood outside her door for a moment. Sirius had a look like they had just gotten away with murder and opened his mouth to say something but Remus gave him a glare that shut him up instantly.

"We have to get to our exams," Remus said firmly. "We'll see you in the common room when we're done Siri."

Sirius pouted, but nodded and left in the direction of Gryffindor Tower. Remus's mind was troubled as he waited for the exam to be handed out. Professor Bones was telling them that each of them had a different exam, to prevent any temptations for cheating. Remus wasn't thinking about Arithmancy though. He was feeling guilt like never before. He had promised his father he wouldn't get in trouble. Trouble for him was not the same as it was for James or Sirius or Peter. Trouble for Remus could end easily in Azkaban or on the executioner's block.

He chased his morbid thoughts away though and concentrated on the paper in front of him. A few of the equations seemed more difficult than he expected at that level but he gave a mental shrug and completed them as best he could anyway. He was one of the first to finish, and actually was surprised that he didn't finish first. The pile of parchment with the neatly organized work he placed on the professor's desk was thicker than the others.

Remus returned to his desk and took out his Potions text to study for his next exam. He was not looking forward to the practical portion, which had to be brewed alone. Each time a Potions exam came along Remus got terribly nervous and he had made some error each and every time, though he hadn't actually failed yet. He couldn't wait until he dropped Potions in sixth year.

Remus glanced up to see Professor Bones already grading some of the exams and guessed that the man needed to occupy himself during the exam somehow. He pointed his wand up and a smoky number five glowed bright red, signaling that the end of the exam was near. Remus went back to his book.

"Time, ladies and gentlemen," Professor Bones stood and informed them. There was a frantic scratching of quills as students tried to finish the equation they were working on. "Pile your exams on my desk and I will see you in January."

James's quill scratched for another minute, until the professor came down to the table where the two Marauders sat and smiled at him, "I can see how you might love Arithmancy so much that you wish to spend your holiday here working Mr. Potter, but I have to ask to you to put your quill away now."

The students still in the room laughed and James flushed for a second before giving the professor his award winning smile. Remus saw Lily send James an 'I cannot believe your idiocy' look before leaving the room with Alice, Frank, and a few other Ravenclaws. Remus raised his eyebrows slightly when Frank helped Alice with her bag and Alice smiled shyly at him before ducking her head and hurrying after Lily.

"Mr. Lupin, a moment of your time," Professor Bones said as Remus waited for James to pack up.

Remus looked up, "Yes, sir." He smiled at James, "I'll catch you up for lunch."

James nodded and nearly ran out the room. Remus went to the front of the room, where the professor was shuffling the exams around. He pulled Remus's out from the stack and set it on top.

"I am intrigued Mr. Lupin," Bones said with a small smile. "Where did you learn Arithmancy?"

Remus hadn't been expecting that, but he shouldn't have been surprised, "My exam was more difficult wasn't it?"

"Some of the equations I gave you were on the O.W.L. exam last year. You got most of them right, enough that you would have passed the exam," Bones looked at Remus with clear curiosity. "I've noticed in your homework and in class that you grasp concepts more readily than your peers and your work is much more thorough."

Remus smiled at the praise, "My father is an Arithmancy Master, sir. I started reading his books years ago. He found out this summer and let me look at his work and went over a bit of it with me."

"That explains it quite clearly," Bones said with a mildly mystified expression. "Your father attended Hogwarts?"

"Yes sir, he was in Ravenclaw, Simeon Lupin," Remus provided.

"Hm," Professor Bones looked like he was working out a particularly challenging problem in his head and he sat back in his chair. "I remember Simeon somewhat. I was five years behind him, also in Ravenclaw. I was not aware he was a Master."

"He studied in France," Remus answered, thinking that might explain it. "We lived there until I was seven."

"I'll have to let him know what a fine job you're doing," Bones smiled again. "Have you thought of perhaps advancing a level or two? It is not normally done but exceptions are made."

Remus shook his head. Exceptions meant coming to the attention of the school board... and the Ministry, "Thank you sir, but I'm mostly self-taught, and there are areas where I'm not quite clear. I think it's better if I remain with my year."

Professor Bones looked slightly disappointed, "It will be as you will. If you wish for advanced work, or are interested in pursuing your own Mastery let me know Mr. Lupin. You have quite a bit of potential."

Remus grinned, but there was sadness and bitterness buried deep behind it, "Thank you again sir."

Remus's grin faded as he left the classroom. He would not be able to pursue formal study after Hogwarts, and would never earn a Mastery in any subject. Such opportunities were barred to him, to any with his condition. He forced himself to concentrate on Potions instead, determined to do well in the exam. If nothing else he would one day be proof that a werewolf could be just as intelligent and studious as any other wizard.

The Marauders noticed the slight change in Remus, but he wouldn't discuss it. He was a little quieter again, a little withdrawn, a little sad. They decided amongst themselves that Remus went through stages like that and it would blow over. They would act just the same and he would be fine and when it happened again they would still be the same as always.

Christmas dawned bright and clear. There was a blanket of fresh snow and the sun reflected off it brightly. As always on Christmas morning James was the first out of bed, waking Remus first because he was easiest to wake. Together they would drag Sirius and Peter out of bed and the wrapping paper would fly.

That Christmas morning there was a flat rectangular box, small enough to fit on a dinner plate, in the middle of the floor. Normally all presents were stacked at the foot of each bed by the house elves. This one must have confused them, as it had the names of all four boys on the front. Consequently it was the first present opened.

Remus took the card on top and slapped James's hand, "Don't open it yet. We have to read the card first!" He read aloud, _"James, Peter, Remus, and Sirius, we hope this makes up somewhat for the cancellation. Merry Christmas. Love, Aaron and Viviane._ 'And Clive' is scratched at the bottom."

"Uh oh," James said warily, rubbing his hand, and making no move to open the box.

Sirius gave him an inquiring look, "Uh oh what?"

"Uncle Clive," James answered plainly. "If he and Dad were both involved this could mean trouble."

Peter started laughing, "I'm not opening that box. I don't care what's inside."

"Well we have to open it," Remus said realistically. "If nothing else Viviane will want to know we got the present."

James groaned.

Sirius looked at him with raised eyebrows, "It can't be that bad."

"You think so?" Peter was laughing. "Last time Jamsie here opened a gift from his father and uncle without demanding they counter whatever hexes were on it he had hoofs instead of feet for a week. He was slipping all over and..."

James tackled Peter and covered his mouth, "I think that's enough _Petey._"

Remus and Sirius both laughed loudly, at the scene before them and the image of James negotiating Potter Manor with hoofs.

"We can just ask Dumbledore or McGonagall or Flitwick or someone to check it over at the feast," Remus suggested. James nodded eagerly and the box was placed aside with its card in lieu of a frantic assault on the packages at the foot of each bed. The sheer number of books Remus had received, and eagerly leafed quickly through had all his roommates shaking their heads. The amount of candy in the room was enough to give every resident of a small village diabetes.

When it was time for the feast James slipped the box into his pocket and Remus grabbed the card. They headed down to the great hall and were very thankful that few students had stayed that year. There was only one table and several seats open right near the headmaster. The Marauders took a straight line to those seats and arranged themselves across from Dumbledore.

"Unc... Headmaster?" James said inquisitively. "We were wondering if we could get a hand with something?"

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows and smiled, "I am always available to aid students in need. With what do you require my assistance?"

James put the box on the table and Remus gave him the card to pass over to Dumbledore, "My father and uncle sir."

A small laugh immediately escaped the headmaster, "It was hoofs last time I believe?"

James colored and let his head fall down on the table before mumbling, "Yes sir."

"Hm," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled brightly as he waved his wand over the box and it glowed bright red. He smiled through his thick beard, "Yes, I would not open this box until all the traps have been dismantled."

"But... You won't...?" James looked at the headmaster, with his face the picture of dejection.

Every staff member seemed to be having difficulty holding back laughter at the Marauders' expense. McGonagall looked at them sternly, though Remus could tell she had to make an effort to hold the look, "This could indeed be quite a learning experience for the four of you. I am sure Professor Flitwick could point you towards some excellent books on curse detection and breaking."

Sirius, James, and Peter all looked at their Head of House wide-eyed but Remus started laughing. He knew she would try to get them, and she had done it in such a devious, Slytherin manner, _and_ it would keep them from playing pranks for the rest of the holiday. He was probably going to enjoy the research but the others would just hate it... were it not for the promise of the gift inside. It had to be quite a gift too as James's presents from his parents hadn't even come close to comparing to previous years.

James had tucked the box back into a pocket and the Marauders were all laughing and joking with the other students at the table before long.

"Mr. Lupin," Remus looked up to see Professor Bones beckoning him from the far end of the table. He gave his friends a look and got up to see what his professor wanted. "This is Miss Michaels. She and I were just discussing her approaching O.W.L. exam and she came up with a theory I thought you might find interesting."

The girl looked up at Remus, "Jessica, please call me Jess."

Remus smiled at her and sat down, "Remus."

"Let's hear that idea of yours again Miss Michaels," Professor Bones smiled at his students.

Jessica began to explain and Remus paid close attention, nodding along and frowning slightly at a few places. She was an ordinary looking girl, with light brown hair and chocolate brown eyes, wearing Ravenclaw robes. When she finished Remus gave it thought for a moment.

"That's similar to something my father and I were discussing this summer...," and Remus launched into an explanation, pulling out his ever present scrap parchment and muggle pen to illustrate his words. Professor Bones just watched them and listened with a smile. Remus guessed the man was still trying to get him to skip ahead in classes and start work towards a Mastery.

He didn't notice his friends looking at him with mischievous expressions as he left the great hall still talking to the Ravenclaw girl, headed towards the library.

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	18. 17: Impressions

**Chapter Seventeen: Impressions**

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"Remy!" Remus looked up and stifled the groan at the approach of his roommates. He gave Jessica an apologetic look as the three other Marauders made their way to the table the two of them were sitting at in the library.

Jess just smiled, "Well, James Potter and Sirius Black, it certainly is a surprise to see you in the library... ever."

James put his hand over his heart, "You wound me Jessica! Tell me, why is a Ravenclaw quidditch chaser consorting with a Gryffindor?" He raised his eyebrows and sat down next to her.

"There is life outside of quidditch Potter," Jess shook her head. "Did it take you long to find the library? I take it this your first time here."

Sirius sat down on her other side, "We come here all the time! Where else would we find such fine reading material?" Sirius put a very thick book down on the table and Remus half stood to read the title, _You've Been Cursed: Counters to the Most Common Curses and How to Find Out You've Been Cursed to Begin With_.

He grinned as Peter sat down next to him, "Jess, this is Peter Pettigrew. Peter, Jessica Michaels of Ravenclaw."

Peter said a quiet 'hello' and Remus shot James a mild glare as he and Sirius began questioning Jessica.

Jess just smiled through it, though, and slid the book Sirius had over to look at it, "What do you need this for? Aren't you the ones normally _casting_ the curses?"

"James had to get it from somewhere," Remus smiled, feeling a bit embarrassed. For the first time he could think of at Hogwarts he didn't want his friends around. "His father and uncle sent us a cursed present. We have to figure out how they cursed it before we open it or Madam Pomfrey will have some interesting work to do."

Jessica's eyes lit up, a challenge always sounding good to a Ravenclaw, "Let's see!"

James took out the box and placed it on the table in front of her. She looked it over carefully and started flipping through the book, "Now, the first thing you have to do is determine how many curses there are, and then you can start picking them apart..."

Remus kneeled on his chair and leaned over to look at the book. Between him and Jessica they sent James, Sirius, and Peter to find at least a dozen other books they might possibly need to sort out the curses on the box. By the end of the afternoon all they had figured out was that there was a concealing charm over all the curses which would have to be removed before anything else could be dissected.

Jessica sat with them for dinner, as she was the only Ravenclaw in her year staying for the holiday. There was a Slytherin fifth year and a Hufflepuff as well, but apparently she didn't get along with either of them.

"How about some flying in the morning," Sirius suggested to Jessica with a glint in his eye that Remus didn't like.

Jess gave him a peculiar look, "Are you crazy? It's freezing outside!"

"That's why warming charms were developed," James countered.

Jessica shrugged, "Remus? Peter?"

"Sure," the word came out of Remus's mouth before he realized it and he almost instantly regretted it. Peter just nodded, and James and Sirius were grinning like they had just found the perfect victim... and they had... Remus. That alone was unusual enough that Remus knew to expect something beyond embarrassing.

"You haven't been on broom since first year lessons!" Peter hissed at Remus on the way up to Gryffindor tower. Jessica had parted from them for her own tower and some homework.

Remus groaned and felt like hitting his head against something... hard, "I know. Why did I say that?"

James slung an arm across his shoulders, still grinning like a maniac, "Because our little Remy has a crush!"

Sirius wiped away fake tears, "Our Remy is growing up. He'll leave home soon and we'll be all alone!"

Remus pushed James away and glared at Sirius, "I do not have a crush!"

"Oh Jessica!" James said in high pitched voice. "Let's go to the library and talk about Arithmancy for hours! We can go flying and I'll show you my broomstick."

Remus's cheeks were heating up, "Quit it!"

"Did Jamsie strike a nerve Remus?" Sirius waggled his eyebrows. "I can't believe you're going flying with us, and Peter too!"

"Bring your camera Siri," James said wistfully. "The moment must be memorialized for the ages!"

"I have one word for you James," Remus glared at his friend, who was just grinning, "Lily."

The teasing, as it always did, resulted in another hexing marathon. With the small number of Gryffindors in the tower, though, the Marauders didn't have to destroy their room, but they still ended up making two of their beds inhospitable. Remus's bed was widened and accommodated all four of them after they countered their hexes and curses and did some more research into the hexes on the box.

"Time to wake up!" James announced a bit too loudly for his roommate's taste.

Remus groaned, looking forward to the morning even more than he had been the night before, "Please tell me there's a blizzard outside... or the apocalypse."

"It's just flying Remy!" Sirius bounced out of the bed, knocking Peter onto the floor in the process, and started changing into his practice quidditch robes. "The sun is shining and the day is perfect!"

"Just flying!" Remus rolled over and crushed a pillow onto his face. James pulled it off and stood above him, laughing. "Flying is unnatural. If people were supposed to fly we would have wings!"

"It can't be that bad," Peter tried to comfort him as he pulled on jeans and an extra thick sweater before searching through his trunk for his warmest cloak.

Remus reluctantly got out of bed and looked for clothing that would keep him warm. Sirius and James were all dressed and ready go, standing together by the door and laughing at Remus, "Don't you remember flying lessons Petey? I don't which was more afraid, Remus or his brooms!"

Remus literally growled at them. It was true though, his broom had seemed just as reluctant to conduct the lesson as he did, even when Madam Hooch switched brooms for him twice. Remus blamed it on the wolf. Something deep inside him just did not like the idea of being airborne. He pulled on a pair of dark green corduroys and a mustard colored sweater with a white turtleneck shirt beneath it.

Sirius elbowed James, "He's getting all dressed up for his date."

"You do realize we're going flying Remus," James chuckled, "not to a poetry reading or something."

Remus glared at them, "Do you want to be able to sit on those brooms? I don't have more casual clothes and you know that perfectly well!"

"Touchy," Sirius said in a low voice to James and Remus's glare deepened, accompanied by a light growl that reminded his friends the full moon was that night.

James put a hand over Sirius's mouth and whispered to him, "Whispering doesn't work around werewolves remember?" He smiled at Remus, "We'll stop, I promise!"

"Can we _please_ go get breakfast now?" Peter asked from behind Remus.

"Food!" Sirius and James turned together and ran down the stairs.

"Thanks Peter," Remus said quietly as they followed at a more sedate pace.

Peter smiled and patted him on the back, "Anytime Remy, anytime."

Jessica was sitting with a much younger Ravenclaw when they got to the great hall. She smiled and waved them over, "This is Gideon Prewett. He's in second year. His brother Fabian, our seeker, graduated last year."

Gideon beamed at them, "Hi! I'm trying for keeper next year when Mitchell graduates. I asked Jess if I could go flying with you too, hope you don't mind."

"The more the merrier," Sirius answered with a grin.

Jess introduced the Gryffindors to Gideon, who already knew who James and Sirius were because of quidditch. He started a conversation on various professional quidditch teams and Remus got Jess back to talking about Arithmancy. Owl post came, with a note from James's father asking if he had opened the box yet. James sent back a short reply, berating his father for cursing their Christmas present and begging for the solution all at once.

"Yes!" Gideon exclaimed as a Tawney owl landed in front of him.

Jess grinned, "Is it from Fabian?"

Gideon nodded excitedly and turned to the Gryffindors, "He's in Auror training! I can't wait to go myself."

"Me too," James agreed readily, "does he say anything about it? My dad and uncle are both Aurors!"

Gideon laughed, "All the Potters are!" He scanned the letter and his eyes grew big and round, "They've shortened the training. It's only one year now."

"One year!" James almost fell out his seat. "Since when? Why?"

Gideon bit his lip, "Fabian says too many Aurors are getting killed fighting You-Know-Who. He's started targeting them directly... and their families. The Ministry needs as many Aurors as they can get so training just got more intense and much faster."

"Hey," Jess nudged the younger boy, "he'll be fine. Fabian's got the fasted wand I've seen. He was a seeker for a very good reason."

Gideon nodded and put on a brave face, pocketing the letter, "So, everyone ready for some flying?"

It was certainly one of the most humiliating days of Remus's life, but at least he had Peter for company in misery. He only fell off his broom once and was fairly low to the ground at the time, though he left a deep impression in the snow. James and Sirius flew circles around him, calling out various taunts all morning. Remus knew he wouldn't live that one down for years.

He could manage flying at a relatively slow pace, relative in comparison to Sirius, James, Jess, and Gideon. They played a three on three quidditch match, with Remus and the Ravenclaws against the other Marauders. James and Sirius formed the teams based on the presumption that Remus was a Ravenclaw in disguise. Sirius played keeper, as did Gideon, and the rest were chasers. There was no snitch and, to Remus's extreme relief, no bludgers.

Remus and Peter roughly cancelled each other out, though Peter had much more flying experience. Remus discovered that if he didn't fly too fast he could still catch and throw very well. His balance had always been excellent, and by the end of the morning he decided flying wasn't the worst experience in the world after all... so long as he tricked himself into thinking he was on solid terra firma.

"You've got a good arm," Jessica commented as they put the brooms away. The Ravenclaw team had won, as Sirius wasn't really suited for keeper. Half his blocks sent the quaffle right back to Jess and Remus, though that might have been intentional.

Remus was grateful for the pink tinge his cheeks had from the cold air, "Thanks. I still definitely prefer walking."

Sirius hugged Remus from behind, "That wasn't so bad, now was it?"

"Get off!" Remus laughed and shrugged Sirius away. "I'll never be a quidditch player, and don't ever bother getting me my own broom. I'll just learn to apparate and be perfectly fine traveling that way. Until then I'll keep my feet firmly planted on the ground."

The six of them walked back to the great hall together for lunch, and Gideon separated from them to eat with his friends that had stayed for the holiday. Remus left not long after lunch to 'visit his mother' and was gone for two full days. When he returned Jess had completed all her homework, and when she wasn't studying for her O.W.L. exams she helped the Marauders work on the box that held their gift from the Potters. It was only two days before the rest of the students returned when a detection spell revealed that all the curses were gone.

The Marauders looked at each other eagerly, and James held his breath while he lifted the lid off the small box. Inside was another card on very thick parchment. James picked it up and read it before exclaiming, "I love you Dad!"

"What?" Sirius exclaimed, "What is it?"

James took four squares of parchment out of the envelope and fanned them, "The Whimbourne Wasps against the Kenmare Kestrels over Easter holiday, top box seats!"

"You lucky devils!" Jess complained. "I've never been to a professional game!"

James grinned, "Uncle Clive knows Ludo Bagman. They were both on the quidditch teams when they were in school, both beaters. My uncle was the Gryffindor captain when Bagman started playing for Hufflepuff his second year and he was only in fifth year. England offered Uncle Clive a spot on the team but he went into Auror training instead."

"You never told me that!" Sirius yelled indignantly.

James looked at Sirius mischievously, "You never asked."

"Why would I..."

"OUT!" Mr. Spean stalked over to their table and ordered them to leave the library, his arm extended towards the door.

The Marauders dutifully obeyed, smiling sheepishly at the librarian as they walked out. Jessica pleaded to stay, as she hadn't been part of the argument, and was granted permission. She waved good-bye to the Gryffindors and smiled as they walked towards their tower.

"We need to send a thank you note to your parents and uncle," Remus suggested firmly on the way to their room.

"And cover it with hexes and curses," Peter grumped.

Sirius and James both grinned. James thumped Peter on the back, "Excellent Marauder thinking."

Remus, by far the most responsible of the Marauders, had been put in charge of the tickets and fingered the box while he thought, "Maybe we should soak the card in a potion. It wouldn't give off the same kind of signature as a curse. We layer a bunch of hexes and curses over it and they'll remove them and think it's safe and then get hit by the potion."

"Remus, you're a genius!" James jumped up and over a trick stair.

Sirius laughed and ruffled Remus's hair, "And such wonderful uses you put all that brain power to."

"It might take a while to put it together," Remus ignored Sirius, his mind listing through all the possible ways to trick the Potter brothers. "None of us can act excited about the tickets. It might get back to James's dad through the headmaster."

"Your better go back and tell Jess then," Sirius said with a suggestive grin. He and James exchanged a look.

Remus just nodded absently and turned around, his brain still not quite in the conversation. When his feet brought him back to the library he remembered that he had just been kicked out. It took a while, but he got Jess's attention through the doors. He waved for her, and she packed up her books and met him in the corridor.

"Hey," Remus smiled, his mind still somewhat planning the prank. "We just wanted to ask you not to mention anything about the tickets, or that we figured the box out." Jess just raised her eyebrows. "We're trying to find a good way to get back at them."

Jess laughed, "No problem, I won't say a thing."

"Thanks," Remus turned to go back to Gryffindor but Jess jogged to walk with him partway.

"I had real fun this week," she smiled and Remus felt his heart kind of flip in his chest. He felt like cursing both Sirius and James to the ends of the universe right then. "I expected to just study all week long, but you four provided plenty of entertainment."

Remus smiled a little nervously, "We aim to please."

Jess giggled just a little. Remus could smell the nervousness, a musky scent that sparked something in the wolf.

She looked down, and Remus realized he was several inches taller than her, even if she was two years older, "There's a Hogsmeade weekend in February. Would you like to go with me?"

Remus's heart was beating faster than it ever had before. Half of him was screaming out, _Yes, say yes!_ The other half, the sensible, responsible half, was rapidly getting less and less happy, "I... I can't... I'm sorry."

"Did your parents sign...?"

"Yes, my dad did. It's just..." Remus had no idea how to finish that sentence. There really wasn't anything he could say.

They were paused where two corridors met, "Well, Ravenclaw is this way now."

Remus just nodded. He watched her go without a word. She only got a few steps though, before she turned around with a determined look and walked back. She grabbed Remus's robe front, rose up on her toes, and pulled him towards her for a kiss. Remus almost pushed her away. His brain told him he should push her away, but something fired up within him and he responded to the kiss. It was his first kiss, so he wasn't entirely sure what he was doing. Part of his brain just shut down and instincts took over.

When she let go and rested back on her heels he felt a desire, a need, to push her back against the wall and do whatever his body wanted, but he recognized the wolf and fought it back.

"Wow," Jess breathed with a small smile. "Did you know you have these golden flecks in your eyes?"

Remus nodded, "You could have been a Gryffindor."

"You could have been a Ravenclaw," Jess grinned.

Remus was still struggling against the wolf. He closed his eyes and dropped his head down, "I still..."

He felt the atmosphere change, smelled the disappointment, "That's okay. I'm sorry I kissed you. Well, not really," she added with a sly smile.

Remus opened his eyes again and raised his head a little, the wolf under control but still there, "I did kiss back. If I could Jess..."

"Why?" She had to ask.

Remus looked away, up the stairs towards Gryffindor, and whispered, "I can't tell you. I'm sorry."

"So am I," Jess started walking towards Ravenclaw again, but paused. "Still friends?"

Remus looked at her then, a safe distance between them. The wolf wanted to leap out, take control. He just nodded, though, and she smiled and turned around. He watched until she disappeared around a turn and then started up the stairs. Remus didn't know whether to hit something, or to cry at the unfairness of it all, or maybe find a potion or a curse so he could never feel any interest for another person in that way again.

He hadn't come up with any realistic solution for his dilemma when he got to Gryffindor tower. His hand came up to his lips and brushed over them. Her lips had felt so soft against his... and he would never feel them again. The wolf was frustrated, had been denied. Remus just tried to get his brain working again and entered the common room. There was no one there except two seventh years studying for their N.E.W.T. exams and looking strained, so his friends had to be in their room.

"Well?" Sirius asked eagerly the instant Remus walked in.

Remus put the tickets in the drawer of his nightstand, "She won't say anything. We have as much time as we need."

James grinned and Sirius kept talking, "That girl is pretty cool for a Ravenclaw. I think she likes you too, Remy. You should ask her to Hogsmeade."

"No," Remus said flatly.

Peter looked up from the comic book he had been reading, "Why not?"

"It's..." Remus then remembered exactly why he was going to push her away in the first place and his stomach flipped again, but for an entirely different reason.

"Remus?" James got off his bed, looking concerned.

Remus ignored him and threw open his trunk. He started taking out books, stacking them next to the trunk as he searched for the one title needed, _Laws and Regulations from the Ministry of Magic of Great Britain_. He pulled it out and sat on the floor, ignoring the questions his friends were shooting at him. The section he wanted was easy to find, as it was the most commonly looked at, _Laws Concerning the Restrictions on Part-Human Dark Creatures_. He found the one he was looking for and read it twice to make sure. His head dropped forward to rest on the book and he felt physically ill.

A hand touched his back, and Remus flinched, but it didn't move, "What's wrong with asking her to Hogsmeade?"

Remus looked up at Sirius's confused face and quoted from the book, nearly snarling, _"Part-Human Dark Creatures may not, under penalty of imprisonment for a term of no less than five years in Azkaban prison, engage in relations of a sexual nature with full humans_. I thought you got Exceeds Expectations on that essay."

Sirius winced at the harsh tone, "I didn't get an Outstanding for a reason. That book isn't in the library either."

"That's the stupidest law I ever heard!" James yelled in anger. "Why should the Ministry care if you snog anyone?"

'It's not about that!" Remus snapped. "They don't want werewolves having children, or infecting their partners!" The anger at his situation came back, "She kissed me!" What would have been responded to with slaps on the back and congratulations for anyone else elicited stunned looks from his friends. "I felt... the wolf wanted to get out, to claim her... that's why this law is here! I could have hurt her!"

Remus slammed the book shut and put his belongings back his trunk. When he had run out of things to do he just gripped his head with his hands and a strong desire to yank out his hair.

"But you didn't..." James said carefully.

Remus shook his head, "No... and when she asked to me Hogsmeade I said no... _before_ the kiss. I still said no after and she's okay. I held the wolf back, but if she had pushed me... tried any harder... I don't know!"

"It's not right," James persisted, his face set and stubborn.

Sirius looked back and forth between them. He and Peter had obviously missed some earlier conversation, but he agreed with James completely, "It's not right."

Peter just nodded along and Sirius thought he was still getting past the idea that a girl, two years older than them, had kissed Remus and this was somehow a bad thing.

"No," Remus shook his head, anger gone and replaced by sadness. "You've never really understood, none of you. I'm not human. No one even knows if lycanthropy is hereditary."

Remus could still feel anger coming from James and Sirius as James sat down on the floor next to him and leaned against him, "We're a pack, right?" Remus just nodded and Sirius and Peter joined them. "Well, I fully intend on having kids some day, to keep the Potter line going. My kids will be your kids."

Remus was overwhelmed.

"Mine, too," Sirius added with a grin that Remus could hear in his voice despite not being able to see his face.

"Yeah," Peter said quietly.

"If you ever get a girl that is," James teased their chubby friend, lightening the mood.

Peter pouted, "I haven't seen you with any dates."

Remus and Sirius instantly burst out in laughter at James's bright red face. His pack always managed to cheer Remus, even when it was unintentional, "You wouldn't want to!"

"Really Peter, you wouldn't," Remus agreed with Sirius and shook his head. He turned to Sirius and winked suggestively, "Then again..."

Sirius returned the wink, "We could ask James to bring a camera next time."

"James!" Peter sounded hurt.

James was still bright red, "Sorry Peter. I didn't mean to keep anything from you. These two forced it out of me... separately I might add."

"Where do you think he wanders off to?" Remus ruffled Peter's hair, and Peter tried to fight him off.

Peter looked dejected, "Am I the only one who's never kissed someone? Siri?"

"Sorry Petey," Sirius flushed slightly. "I've um...,"

Remus decided to save his friends, "So... about that thank you note."

The red faded from James's face and his eyes lit up in anticipation. Sirius forgot about explaining his own exploits. Peter brightened up and fetched the book that the Marauders had termed their 'Prank Bible' and the Marauder's Journal.

All their problems were forgotten in the face of a revenge prank.

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Please Review!

-oOo-


	19. 18: Easter Excursion

**Chapter Eighteen: Easter Excursion**

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It took the Marauders the last two days of the holiday plus another three days to put together their plan for revenge on Aaron and Clive Potter. Then it took two weeks to prepare the necessary potions and perfect the combination of spells. Making sure they were within hearing range of McGonagall, trusting that she had put Aaron and Clive up to cursing the box so thoroughly, the Marauders complained that they still hadn't been able to open the gift.

To avoid getting James's mother caught in the crossfire, and therefore suffering for it once summer holiday came around, the Marauders sent her a note warning her not to touch any mail that Zeus would bring for Aaron and Clive. They also requested that she not react to the prank until their two victims noticed. Viviane Potter almost never interceded in the prank wars between her son and husband and brother-in-law... until they involved her somehow.

It was only a few days before February when the revenge via post was sent to Potter Manor with Zeus. They were not counting on receiving confirmation on the success of their prank, at least not in the way they did. The plan was to question Aaron and Clive mercilessly when they went to Potter Manor and the quidditch stadium for the game over Easter holiday.

Of course, they weren't counting on their timing being so good.

A loud laugh rang out from the Ravenclaw table, and Gideon Prewett jumped up from his seat and weaved his way across the great hall to the Marauders at the Gryffindor table. He sat down, clutching an envelope.

"Fabian wanted me to thank you for the good laugh," Gideon grinned.

The Marauders all exchanged confused looks and James spoke for them all, "Huh?"

Gideon pulled several photographs out of the envelope and laid them on the table. The Marauders all picked up a picture showing either Aaron, Clive, or both of them and the success of their prank. Across each man's face the words, _'Silly Aurors, Pranks are for Kids'_, were neatly scrawled. The four Gryffindors were all grinning widely.

"We got them!" James practically yelled. "I can't believe we got them!"

"They were at Auror Academy for a special lecture," Gideon told them, "and decided to give a practical lesson on investigative techniques and curse detection. All the trainees had to figure out exactly what you four did to the letter you sent them."

"Can I borrow these for a minute?" Remus asked the Ravenclaw. When he got a nod in return he jumped up from the Gryffindor table and headed for the staff table, stopping in front of Professor Flitwick, who was sitting next to Headmaster Dumbledore. "I was wondering if you could teach me a photograph duplication charm Professor?"

"May I?" Professor Dumbledore asked before picking up the picture on top of the stack. He smiled and passed it to McGonagall, "I think several duplication charms are in order Filius."

Professor Flitwick taught Remus the charm, and Professor Dumbledore kept a set of the photographs for his own uses. The originals were returned to Gideon, and the Marauders spent over an hour deciding which pictures to include in the Marauder Journal with the plans for and final description of the prank. They added the story that went with the success of their prank and made a note in their 'To Do' section of the Journal to thank Fabian Prewett for the pictures.

Easter holiday came quickly, after weeks of essays, quidditch games, Hogsmeade visits, and pranks. Remus suspected McGonagall was nearing the end of her patience with the overly excited James and Sirius and couldn't wait to get rid of them, if only for a week. Aaron Potter had arranged for the four of them to leave on Friday night, rather than taking the Saturday morning train, and they waited anxiously for him in the headmaster's office.

The portraits on the walls of the office were of former headmasters and headmistresses of Hogwarts. Remus saw that Phineas Nigellus, who Andy Tonks had mentioned, was peeking at them every now and then, paying attention to Sirius in particular, who was engaged in a breathless debate on quidditch fouls with James.

"That was one of the worst calls in the history of quidditch!" Sirius insisted.

James looked offended, "Are you out of your mind? It was brilliant!"

There was a 'whoosh' and a flash of green light, but neither James nor Sirius noticed Aaron Potter stepping out of the fireplace. Remus wondered at it for a moment. He had read that the headmaster's fireplace had extremely limited access. The Potters must have been closer to him that anyone knew.

"Ready to go boys?" Aaron asked, standing right behind his son.

James jumped and turned around, "Don't _do_ that Dad!"

Aaron ruffled his hair and grinned, "All set Albus?"

The headmaster nodded and handed over a long piece of rope with odd wooden handles at either end, "Everyone grab hold."

Remus felt the yank behind his navel that was the hallmark of travel by Portkey, and landed in a field where Clive Potter was waiting for them. Remus had met him a few times over the summer at Potter Manor, as James's uncle spent a large amount time there. Clive picked James up off the ground and gave him rough hug, then did the same for Peter. He smiled and said 'hello' to Sirius and Remus.

"Now," Clive said with a serious expression that didn't match the mischievous in his voice, "which one of you decided to cross a glamour potion with an absorbency cream and mask it with a concealment charm and dozens of curses and hexes?"

All the Marauders did their best to assume innocent expressions. As Clive and Aaron were the victims of the prank, no one was allowed to point fingers. The two Aurors exchanged amused glances, but didn't ask more questions.

"The game doesn't start until tomorrow afternoon," Clive winked at his nephew, "but I think we'll be able to amuse ourselves until then."

There was a tent already pitched and the Marauders deposited their bags in the empty bedroom. It was fairly small for a wizarding tent, having only two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large combination living and dining room and a small but well stocked kitchen. Remus laughed at the comment from James. The tent, the inside anyway, wasn't much smaller than the cottage he and his father lived in.

"Let's go see if the teams are here yet!" James was bouncing in excitement, much as he had been after the quidditch tryouts the year before.

Clive Potter was quickly located and he brought them over to the stadium where the home team, the Whimbourne Wasps, was practicing. Remus and Peter mostly played chess in the stands while James and Sirius watched the practice with eager eyes, talking almost nonstop about the moves being used or the formations the chasers flew in. Aaron and Clive had a hushed conversation, though they spoke up every few minutes and commented on what James and Sirius were discussing.

Dinner was full of exclamations and bets between James and Sirius on the outcome of the game. Aaron eventually stepped in and forbade them from betting anything more than a few sickles.

"Dad, can we practice dueling tonight?" James pleaded. The other three Marauders perked up at the idea.

"I don't know James," Aaron looked doubtful. "You're not at Hogwarts..."

Remus grinned, "The Restriction on Underage Sorcery only applies for the summer holiday because when it was written Hogwarts students stayed in the castle over Christmas and Easter. We're told not to do magic on those holidays but it's not actually forbidden."

"Are you sure you're not a Ravenclaw?" Clive laughed at Remus.

"I bet he wishes he was," Sirius teased and Remus turned bright red. He still studied with Jess on occasion and with the sting of the initial trouble past his friends took to teasing him in true Marauder fashion.

Aaron and Clive looked at the three snickering Marauders and the blushing Remus with interested expressions and James grinned widely, "Remus is mooning over..."

Remus had enough for one meal and drew his wand, "Not one more word Jamiekins!"

"_Mooning?_" Sirius raised his eyebrows.

"Nice response time," Clive commented while Aaron snickered at the use of Viviane's pet name for James. "Tell you what, we were talking to Ludo earlier," James and Sirius forgot all about Remus's love life and paid rapt attention, "and he said you guys could fly with the team tonight. They'll be taking it easy to avoid any injuries before the game. After, if you still want, we'll see how well you four duel."

"Yes!" James and Sirius jumped up and ran for their brooms, packed in case the game ended quickly and they had a few days at the Manor.

"Good thing dinner was already over," Peter said to Remus with a grin.

Remus nodded, "They might have been torn in two otherwise, having to choose between food and flying."

Clive flicked his wand and the dishes floated into the kitchen to clean themselves. James and Sirius came down to the living room, changed into their practice robes and clutching their brooms. Remus summoned a book out of his bag and followed his friends outside.

Clive was walking with James and Sirius, carrying his own broom, and Aaron took up the rear, "I know Peter doesn't fly much. Are you another landlubber Remus?"

James laughed, only a few steps ahead, and couldn't help himself, "He is when he's not trying to impress a girl! Mooning Moony... hey I like that!"

"Of course, the only impression he made was of his arse in the snow!" Sirius added.

Remus felt his face heat up again. He nearly growled in warning to his friends, "James, Sirius."

"Aw, is Remy embarrassed again?" James turned to walk backwards, grinning like a fool. "Does Moony not like his new nickname?"

Remus glared and James, knowing his werewolf friend well, determined he was only a few words away from being hexed silly. He jumped onto his broom and raced away, Sirius following suit.

"I'll get you later for that Potter!" Remus called after them. Peter just laughed beside him.

Remus and Peter sat themselves in the stands again and Remus pulled out the Arithmancy he had been helping his father with. James and Sirius dove and darted around the pitch, tossing around a makeshift quaffle with Clive. Peter just watched, and Remus wondered absently how Peter could just sit there watching his friends have fun. The smaller boy would clap every now and then as James pulled out of a steep dive or executed a sharp turn. Remus shook his head and went back to work.

There was a whistle behind him, "That's far beyond third year level work Remus."

Remus twisted and looked up at Aaron, "I started reading my father's school books as soon as I _could_ read. He considered home schooling me for awhile but I wanted to go to Hogwarts. Dad found me with his sixth year Arithmancy book this summer and let me start helping him with his work." Remus held up his parchment, "This is stuff we were working on. I'm sure he's far past this but I can compare my work with his this summer."

"Are you sure you're a Gryffindor?" Aaron took the parchment and looked over the figures, his eyes scanning while he shook his head slowly.

"It was close, but the hat saw some Gryffindor in me," Remus smiled softly. "I'm far too easily swayed to play pranks with the two idiots up there."

Aaron nodded and handed back the parchment, "A Ravenclaw brain in a Gryffindor... I can see why the pranks you four play are so successful."

Peter grinned at Aaron, "Remus is the brain behind the whole group. James and Sirius would get caught far more often than they do without him."

"Thank you for keeping my son from getting expelled," Aaron laughed and went down to the base of the stands where Clive was hovering.

They did get to practice dueling that night once it got too dark to fly, and the Marauders were all soundly beat by the brother Aurors, in both individual duels and four on two. Of all four Marauders Remus lasted the longest in the duels, and when they finished Aaron and Clive gave them pointers and taught them several new spells. Watching James duel Aaron was quite a sight, as James was nearly as tall as his father and they were almost identical. In a few years, once James reached his final height and lost the youthful roundness in his face, it would be possible to confuse one of them for the other.

"Everyone up!" a voice boomed through the tent. "The game starts in two hours!"

Remus had never seen Sirius wake up so fast. James always woke quickly, usually fairly early as well, and full of energy. Remus and James had both showered the night before so Peter and Sirius could shower in the morning. James and Sirius were already talking a mile a minute by the time they got down to breakfast.

"Welcome to Whimbourne Stadium for your own Wasps against the Kenmare Kestrels!" the announcer was standing just to their left. James and Sirius were practically falling out of their seats in their eagerness to lean over the half-wall of the top box and see everything they could.

The teams were introduced and play began. Remus watched closely but couldn't work up the energetic enthusiasm that Sirius, James, Peter, and Clive all displayed. Clive Potter was almost as much of a kid in this way as James was and Remus could see even more how James got started in his quidditch obsession.

"Ooo, that's a foul on the Wasps! Krendal of the Kestrels takes a foul shot and scores, making the score 70 to 50 in favor of the Wasps. The snitch has not yet made an appearance and this is promising to be a long game. The longest in record was in 1847 when the game lasted five full days and nights and players had to be rotated in and out to eat and sleep. What's this?" James and Sirius both jumped out of their seats. "Munson dives! The Kestrels seeker is headed for the turf. Has he seen the snitch? Henrikson of the Wasps seems to think so as he follows and..."

Everyone in the top box winced, along with the rest of the spectators.

"Ouch! Henrikson is ploughed! That's a timeout for the Wasps as the team's Healer comes out to check their seeker."

"Brilliant!" Sirius exclaimed.

James elbowed him, "That was ridiculous! Henrikson should have seen the snitch wasn't out yet!"

"This is his first year on the team," Sirius snorted. "He probably still gets nervous going up against professional seekers."

"No seeker can afford to let their opponent get ahead," Clive broke into the argument. "Henrikson had to dive if he didn't see the snitch somewhere else. He was just paying too much attention to Munson and not enough to the ground."

"Until he hit it," James grinned at his uncle and got laughs from all his friends, his father and some of the others in the top box.

Sirius trained his omnioculars on the pitch, "Shh! Henrikson's up. They're starting again."

His words were overlapped by the announcer, "And the quaffle is up, with the Wasps in possession..."

Remus watched James, Sirius, and Peter only slightly less than the game. The way they jumped up and down, cheered, booed, and celebrated the goals was like nothing Remus had ever seen. No one got that excited over games at Hogwarts, at least no one near Remus in the stands. Every now and then Remus noticed Aaron and Clive exchanging a look and smiling at James.

He remembered what Gideon Prewett had said about Aurors being killed so quickly that the Ministry had to shorten training to keep enough of them out there fighting. James had a lot to lose, with his father and uncle both in the Auror corps. So far as Remus knew the only grandparent James had left was his father's mother.

"I'll take care of dinner," Aaron commented. Remus stood and stretched as Aaron made some complicated patterns with his wand and conjured up sandwiches for the six of them.

It was going to be a very long game. Remus had no idea how the seekers would be able the snitch in the dark. It was a cloudy night and the moon only peeked out every now and then. There was some light for the players cast by the referees once the sun began sinking below the horizon.

"It's a timeout for the Kestrels, looks like they're going to start swapping out some players and feeding them. The Wasps are following suit," the announcer accepted a sandwich from someone in a Wasps cloak with a nod. He pointed his wand at his throat and turned off the voice projection charm so he could eat without broadcasting the sounds to the whole stadium. "Too bad they never swap out announcers."

Clive thumped him on the back, "Easy there Jack. You're the one who started at Hogwarts and couldn't get enough."

The announcer grinned up at Clive, "Yeah, I can remember McGonagall scolding me at least twice a game. She still doing that boys?"

James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus all nodded, their mouths full of roast beef on rye. The announcer finished his food quickly and pointed his wand at his throat again, _Sonorous!_

"The reserves are on their brooms and the quaffle is out again!"

Remus looked around the stands with Sirius's omnioculars. He had an uneasy feeling, like something was out of place. He leaned forward between James and Sirius and trained the omnioculars on the crowd. It was a mixture of witches and wizards, children and adults, nothing strange there. A few small children were sleeping in their parents' laps. He caught a flash of white at the base of the stands where there were no seats and scanned back quickly to find it again.

His heart thudded in his chest as he focused in on it, hoping it was only some fan having a smoke away from his family or something like it. The white came into sharp focus and Remus swore, which was unusual for him.

"Aaron," Remus called James's father.

The man wasn't an Auror for nothing. Something in Remus's tone caught his attention and he pushed himself in next to his son. Remus handed him the omnioculars and pointed.

"Damn," Aaron stood and whispered to Clive, who suddenly had a very stern expression as he darted out of the top box.

James noticed something was amiss, "Remy?"

"Death Eater," Remus whispered and pointed. James looked down, but was too far away to see without aid.

Aaron took the announcer aside and said something quietly. Jack nodded and made a hand signal to one of the referees, "The Whimbourne Wasps would like to show their appreciation to their fans with a thirty minute intermission in the game. The concession stand will be serving dinner food for all you hungry fans and if you still have your ticket you get a ten percent discount on your meal."

"You boys have your wands?" Aaron asked seriously. All four of them drew them out and showed the Auror. "Good. I want you all to stick together and do exactly what I say."

"What is going on here?" A man stormed into the top box. "I didn't authorize any intermission or discount!"

"That's the Wasps owner," James whispered to Remus.

Aaron pulled out his Auror badge and flashed it to the owner before taking him aside. The man paled as Aaron told him a Death Eater had been spotted under the stands. He nodded at whatever Aaron was saying and then directed the quick evacuation of the top box, inviting the guests to the clubhouse for drinks.

"All of you follow me," Aaron looked a bit stressed. "I don't want any of you out of my sight even for a moment. You know how to stun and disarm, so use those if you have to."

Remus nodded and saw James and Sirius nodding too. Peter was looking a bit sick. They followed Aaron down the steps once the box was empty. There was a flash and the stands shook, followed by screams from the people left in their seats, luckily less than half of those who had been there only minutes before. A portion of the stands collapsed and Remus cringed, thinking of what might have been.

Alerted by the screams and bright lights of curses people started running. Aaron kept the four Marauders close to him, occasionally pushing them all up against a wall as a mob of people rushed by or a series of curses flashed their way. They were moving against the stampede of frightened quidditch fans.

"Aaron!"

"Over here," Aaron shot red sparks in the air and Clive came running over.

"I alerted the Ministry," Clive was panting. "There should be a full team here any minute."

There were loud 'cracks' as those without children apparated away.

"Start getting Portkeys set up and get the families out of here," Aaron ordered his younger brother.

Clive nodded and ran off again. Moments later his magnified voice was heard, "Families with underage children can get Portkeys to Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade at the ticket stand."

Aaron looked the Marauders up and down as if assessing their abilities, "If we get separated make sure that you always have at least one other with you. Peter stick with Remus, Sirius with James." They nodded.

"Should we get a Portkey from Uncle Clive?" James asked as they fought their way through the panicking people.

Aaron shook his head, "There will be too many people there and most of them have small children. You four can defend yourselves at least."

James stood up straighter at the compliment from his father. Aaron gave him a quick hug and they pressed through the thinning crowd, moving towards the fight. When they broke out into the open they saw that many of the wizards and witches who had been watching the game were fighting, including the majority of the players. Both teams were still airborne, firing curses from above.

_Accio brooms!_ Aaron yelled. James's and Sirius's brooms came into his hand a moment later. He handed them to their owners, "Join the chasers boys. Remember, faster moving targets are harder to hit. Remus and Peter, follow me."

James and Sirius were flying through the air almost instantly. They kept low to their brooms and pulled up into the formations of quidditch players.

"What are you doing here?" Davies, one of the beaters for the Kestrels asked. He fired a curse down at a black-robed figure.

_Stupefy!_ James watched his fifth curse finally hit a target, "My Dad's an Auror, and my uncle. We were in the stands."

"Stay close!" Bagman ordered. "Clive would kill me if you two got hurt."

Sirius grinned at him. He had always wanted to meet Ludo Bagman, "No problem." _Expelliarmus!_

"You know these kids?" the Wasps keeper asked Bagman.

"Yeah," Bagman answered. _Impedimentia!_ "The taller one's a Potter."

On the ground Aaron, Remus and Peter were joining the fight. Remus felt his senses growing and his night vision improving dramatically. He looked down at Peter, who was shaking, "Stay behind me Peter."

His smaller friend obeyed automatically. Aaron was firing off curses at a rate Remus had never seen. The Auror had been holding back the night before when they had those practice duels. Remus saw a curse coming their way, grabbed Peter, dove and rolled. He jumped to his feet when he stopped rolling and pulled Peter up with him.

Aaron was nowhere in sight.

Remus leaned down, "Okay Peter. There's nothing to worry about. It would take at least a few stunners to get me down. Stick behind me and you'll be fine."

Peter nodded and they moved as quickly as Remus dared, knowing Peter was not nearly as fast as he was. They darted around trees, with Remus dragging Peter to the ground more then once, until they came face to face with a figure cloaked in black and masked in white.

"Two little Hogwarts brats," the Death Eater said in a deep voice. "Where's Mummy and Daddy?"

Remus held his wand out with one hand and held Peter behind him with the other. No one was going to attack a member of his pack. He narrowed his eyes at the Death Eater.

The Death Eater cackled, "Not up for a chat? I hope you're ready for death."

"You first," Remus growled.

The laughter increased and the Death Eater flicked his wand, _Crucio!_

Remus dodged, pulling Peter with him, _Expelliarmus!_ His spell missed the target.

_Avada Kedavra!_

ooOOoo

James and Sirius were flying in a tight formation with the quidditch players, traveling almost as fast as the brooms would move. Splitting into two groups they were ordered to stay in the pitch while the other group rose up over the stands and headed for the woods, as none of the Death Eaters were willing to fight the players. Men on the ground were no match for expert flyers.

"That was..."

"...amazing," James finished Sirius's thought.

Bagman flew close to them, "Let's find your uncle. The fight is leaving the area."

James nodded. The flashes of light from curses were getting further and further away from them and it felt much darker than it had just moments ago. They flew to the crowd of people waiting for Portkeys away from the stadium. The Aurors had shown up right after James and Sirius joined the quidditch players and the two Gryffindors only had a chance to get off a dozen spells before there was no one left to curse.

"James!" Clive Potter gripped his nephew in tight hug. He then hugged Sirius as well, "Sirius! Where is everyone else? Thanks Ludo."

Bagman nodded and left for the locker rooms.

"Remus and Peter were with Dad," James answered. He looked around then, and saw that there were several injured people lying on the ground, with Aurors checking them for injury and sending many of them away with Portkeys, probably to St. Mungo's.

A man that looked about thirty handed Clive a sock and he pointed his wand at it, _Portus._ The man took it back and instructed his two small children to grab hold.

"This is a mess," Clive ran his hand through his classic Potter messy black hair.

Aaron Potter apparated next them with a loud 'crack' and looked around quickly, "Damn! Remus and Peter got separated from me. You haven't seen them?" All three of them shook their heads. "Stay here James, Sirius. If you try to find them you will be in more trouble than you could ever dream of."

James just nodded. His father almost never was the one who punished him, but when he did it got the message across fast.

ooOOoo

Remus bodily threw Peter behind a tree and dodged the bright jet of light, firing as many spells as he could in the general direction of the Death Eater. When he stood he was so close to the Death Eater he could smell his breath, though with his heightened sense he didn't have to be as close as someone else would. There was no movement from where he had tossed Peter. His friend had either fainted or hit his head.

The Death Eater reached out to grab Remus's robes and Remus swung, his fist connecting with the man's jaw. There was a crunch, and Remus knew that bone had broken.

"Little bastard!" the words were slurred as the man's mouth wouldn't work quite right. "You'll pay for that!"

They both started firing curses, most of which collided in the air in bright sparks. One of them hit Remus and he felt pain course through his body, but it was not anywhere as bad as his transformation. Ignoring the pain he shouted, _Stupefy!_

The Death Eater looked surprised before he flew back, hit a tree, and then slumped on the ground unconscious. Remus knew there was a spell for magically binding someone so they couldn't apparate when they regained consciousness but he couldn't recall the incantation. He settled for the spell that was used to bind broken bones, learned from his medical book, _Ferula!_

The man was wrapped neck to foot in tight white gauze and Remus almost laughed at his resemblance to a mummy. He ran over to Peter and inspected him carefully, much as he had Sirius that day in the kitchen. There was no lump on the head and his breathing and heart rate were fine. He had just fainted, _Ennervate!_

Peter sat up and cringed, "Some Gryffindor I am."

"Don't worry about it," Remus said quietly. He shot red sparks in the air, the same as Aaron had done when Clive was looking for them. "Let's get out of here."

"But...," Peter protested weakly.

Remus pushed Peter along, back towards where he knew the stadium was, and hissed at his friend, "I can't come to the attention of the Ministry, even for capturing a Death Eater."

Peter just nodded and followed. They bumped into Aaron on their way back, who gave them both fierce hugs. Remus ignored the pain it caused so Aaron wouldn't find out what happened. He told James's father that they ran into a Death Eater but managed to escape. When all six of them were back together Clive took the students to Hogsmeade with a Portkey and walked them back to Hogwarts, promising to deliver their bags as soon as he could. Before they left Remus heard Aaron apologizing to James for ending their vacation so soon.

"It's okay Dad," James said sadly. "I understand."

They hugged and Aaron ran off towards another Auror with scars all over his face. The Marauders were quiet when they reached Hogwarts, delivered directly to McGonagall's office by Clive. It was past midnight and she escorted the boys first to Madam Pomfrey, despite their protests that none of them were injured, and then to Gryffindor tower. Madam Pomfrey slipped a few vials to Remus discreetly and made him promise to come back in the morning, all without his friends or McGonagall noticing. She also whispered to him that it was about time he started calling her Poppy, with all the time he spent with her.

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	20. 19: The Effects of War

**Chapter Nineteen: The Effects of War**

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The Marauders discovered over the next few days that they were not the only students who had been at the game. They were pestered by the friends of other Hogwarts students who had been in the stands for news on their friends and details of the attack. They hadn't seen anyone they knew and were unable to sooth the fears of anxious students.

The four Gryffindors started practicing their curses and hexes again, dueling in their room after curfew. Two of them were encouraged by their success at the quidditch game and Peter was fully embarrassed, though Remus said nothing to the others. He was determined to improve so he didn't have to rely on his friends for protection.

**ATTACK ON QUIDDITCH STADIUM CAUSES STIR AT MINISTRY**

DEPARTMENT OF MAGICAL GAMES AND SPORTS DELAYS FURTHER GAMES PENDING SECURITY INVESTIGATION OF ALL STADIUMS

"No more quidditch," James said sadly as he read the paper.

Peter cocked his head, "But it just says they're going to investigate security. They won't cancel all the games!"

"How can they make a stadium with hundreds of people secure?" Remus asked. "Even if they managed to work it so only people with tickets could get in the Death Eaters could buy tickets."

The attack had been reported the morning after it happened. Magic made wizarding newspapers print much more quickly than their muggle equivalents. So long as there was time for the owls to get the papers delivered the _Daily Prophet_ could get a report out almost right after some event happened.

Every morning there was a report of at least one attack. The more attacks there were, and the worse they got, the more boisterous and silly James and Sirius got. It was not at all unusual for any of the boys in Gryffindor, other Marauders excluded in fear of harsh retaliation, to find itching powder in their beds. Dungbombs made the common room unlivable on multiple occasions.

James and Sirius had even taken to the occasional random hexing of people in the corridors between classes to get a laugh. They were discreet enough that only by checking every wand in the crowded areas would the professors know who cast the spells. They didn't escape the notice of some of the other Gryffindors, though.

"Why do they do that?" Lily Evans was fuming, having reversed a tickling hex on a first year Slytherin.

Remus looked up from the essay he was writing. He was in the library, so the rest of the Marauders were nowhere to be seen and not about to show up. Lily had dropped her bag with uncharacteristic abandon and was whispering furiously so as not to get kicked out by the librarian.

He sighed, "We were at that quidditch game, you know."

Lily instantly looked horrified, "Oh! Did you get hurt? Are you...?"

"We're all fine," Remus assured her. "It's just... when things get too serious or depressing they try to make everyone laugh. They're just getting carried away."

Small lines appeared across Lily's face as she pondered what he said, "They're still arrogant and immature."

Remus shrugged, "It's who they are. Why does it bother you so much?"

"All those other students don't deserve to get hexed!" Lily fumed.

"They can retaliate on their own," Remus said, starting to get an idea of why his friend was so upset, "like Snape and Malfoy and Black."

"But some of them are just kids!" Lily protested.

Remus nodded, "And you and I reverse the hexes, or someone else does, and I lecture James and Sirius about hexing first years. Most of the time that happens it's because they missed their target."

"That doesn't make it okay," Lily was frowning.

Remus leaned towards her, "You've always thought James was arrogant. Why are you getting mad now?"

"I... I'm not...," Lily's cheeks were coloring.

"You think he's cute," Remus grinned.

"I do not!" Lily hissed.

"Methinks the lady doth protest overly much," Remus teased.

Lily packed her bag up again and got up from the table, her face bright red, "You Remus Lupin, are just as bad as they are!"

Remus snickered quietly as she stalked across the library to sit with some Ravenclaws in their Arithmancy class. He noticed that Steve Stebbins was flirting with Lily. She gave Remus a pointed look and moved her chair a little closer to his. Remus just shook his head and went back to his own work for Ancient Runes.

James had been scowling when the next Hogsmeade weekend, the last of the year, rolled around. Lily went with Stebbins, Alice, and Frank. Alice and Frank were officially a couple, that one couple that everyone approved of and thought was just perfect.

Once the four of them were out of sight though, James had brightened up. He and Sirius flirted shamelessly with Rosmerta in the Three Broomsticks, trying to get her to sell them shots of firewhiskey instead of butterbeer.

She, of course, refused.

"So Moony," Sirius leaned across the table and whispered. Remus groaned. The nickname had stuck, mostly because of the double entendre that amused James so much. "Do you think you could get the map to show all the secret passages and how to get through them?"

"We've already got the passages," Remus leaned back. "We don't want to just put the passwords and how to use them on the map. It would be cluttered and too easy if someone gets hold of the map and learns how to use it."

"Could you charm it so the password appears when the person is at the entrance?" Peter asked.

Remus knitted his brow and thought for a while, ignoring the whispering going on between James and Sirius, "The map would have to know where the person holding it is... and I have no idea to do that... but if you tap the entrance with your wand..."

"There could be a little animated wizard entering the passage!" James suggested, and then drank a large gulp of butterbeer. "He could have a voice bubble like in the Mad Muggle comics!"

"That might work," Remus tried to remember if he had found a charm for animated drawings. Hiding it wouldn't be too hard. That was similar enough to what he already did with his homework.

"And Mum said I'd never get anything from reading comics," James announced smugly.

"Too bad you can't tell her," Sirius laughed.

"She'd never see it as something good anyway," Peter added.

The three Marauders not lost in thought suddenly started a loud conversation about quidditch.

"I think you're all wrong," a female voice said from behind Remus. He turned in his seat.

"Von!" James jumped and bowed. "Join us ladies!"

Yvonne and Beatrice pulled over chairs from the next table and joined them.

"The Tutshill Tornadoes will never amount to anything," Yvonne declared. "They're management is pathetic, so they'll never be able to recruit top players."

"Management can change," Sirius pointed out. "If they sell the team it will go cheap since they haven't won a game in years. Then someone with talent might be able to snatch it up for a Knut and turn them around."

"It's possible," Beatrice allowed, "but it will be years before anything happens."

Remus mostly ignored the conversation on all things quidditch related. Instead he turned over in his head possibilities for the Marauder's Map. It really was getting to be a bit of an obsession, as he sent his friends measuring the castle and marked down every twist and turn he found.

The stairs were his biggest difficulty. They changed the entire configuration of the castle on a regular basis. There was no point in using a map to plan a route if you ran into a dead end where a staircase used to be. Then there were the rooms that vanished and appeared occasionally. Something was controlling all of that. Most people thought that it was like accidental magic, that the castle had absorbed so much magic over the years that it was released through the moving staircases and rooms.

Remus didn't agree. When it was near the full moon, and even more so just before that eclipse, it almost felt like the castle was alive. There was one spot, by that tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy, where he could almost swear he could feel the castle humming, or maybe trying to talk to him.

In the library Remus found as many books as he could on the history of Hogwarts, the building of Hogwarts, and the founders of the school. When he wasn't doing homework or planning pranks with the Marauders he was reading about the castle. He suspected that by the time he left the school he might know more about the school than even Dumbledore. After all, Dumbledore didn't have the heightened senses of a werewolf to show him passages and peculiarities.

He also found the oldest portraits in the school and asked them what Hogwarts was like when they were students. Most of them were eager to talk to a student and share their knowledge, though a few of them were suspicious of his motives.

"Mr. Lupin," Remus almost jumped in surprise. No one should be able to sneak up on him.

"Good day Headmaster Dumbledore," the painting of Maximillian Gaius Paulinus in the uniform of a Roman Tribune said.

"Hello sir," Remus said cautiously.

"I hear you are looking into the castle's past Mr. Lupin," Dumbledore twinkled at Remus.

Sensing he wasn't in trouble for his investigations Remus decided to tell at least part of the truth, "Yes sir. I was thinking about the stairs and the rooms that disappear. I don't think it's leaking magic. Sometimes the stairs change at just the right moment, like the castle knows where someone is trying to go."

"So this is why you've been chatting with the portraits," Dumbledore smiled.

"Yes sir," Remus nodded. "The books in the library weren't very helpful."

Dumbledore addressed the painting, "Do you have an opinion on the matter Maximillian?"

"The young one has a point," the portrait allowed. They were in a corridor that was not frequented and Remus had found the portraits in such corridors more eager for conversation, somewhat lonely. "When I was a young student here there were rumors that the gods gave life to these stones so they would watch over the inhabitants."

"Or maybe the founders did," Remus said thoughtfully.

"If they did Mr. Lupin," Dumbledore said gravely, "I have no knowledge of it. I only hope that if such protection exists the castle will be able to activate it if we are in need."

"You don't think Death Eaters would attack the castle, do you?" Remus suddenly grasped the headmaster's reason for sadness he thought.

"Not at this time Mr. Lupin," Dumbledore allowed. "Voldemort," Remus looked at the man in surprise, "is neither strong enough nor foolish enough to attack where I am strongest."

"You say his name sir," Remus was in awe.

"Fear of the name increases fear of the thing itself," Dumbledore wisely intoned.

Remus just nodded, but still thought of the power names had... of course, Voldemort was not a real name, just one fashioned by the dark lord to inspire fear and mystery.

"Run along Mr. Lupin," Dumbledore smiled down at him. "I am sure you have much more exciting pursuits than learning the history of this castle."

It was more an order than a suggestion, Remus recognized. "Yes sir."

He walked down the corridor, hearing the headmaster converse with the portrait of Paulinus about what candies were available to the Roman in his time. Remus shook his head and stifled a laugh. The headmaster was as much of a mystery as the castle was.

Remus returned to the common room, but stopped before he even got close to the Fat Lady. The stink pouring out of Gryffindor Tower was nauseating. Gyffindors passed by him holding their noses and looking like they would be ill at any moment.

He grabbed a second year as she went by, "What's going on?"

"Potter and Black dropped a full bag of Dungbombs," the girl said through a nasal tone from holding her nose shut. "It'll be hours."

Remus nodded and let her go, joining the flood of students away from the tower himself. He had wanted to get his bag and books from his room so he could get some work down, and now he was stuck with nothing to do.

"Moony!"

Remus turned and held his hands out, "Don't you dare get anywhere near me until you've cast a few hundred cleaning charms on yourself!"

"Aw Moony," James whined, "don't you love us?"

"Not when you smell like that!" Remus responded, starting to run away.

He could smell James, Sirius, and Peter following him and they dodged students left and right. The corridors were packed for a Sunday afternoon, with rain outside and Gryffindor Tower uninhabitable.

Remus turned and jogged backwards for bit along a stretch of straight corridor, "Think you can actually catch me?"

"No, but we can keep you running!" Sirius responded with a grin.

Remus scowled at them and turned again, headed towards the entrance hall. He drew them in, slowing his pace slightly, and when the got near the doors to the castle Remus flicked his wand and the doors opened. Then he turned, paralyzed his friends, and sent them out into the rain.

Clapping sounded around him, "Way to go Remus!"

Gryffindors did not like being driven out of their home at least once a month. The castle doors closed with a 'thunk' and knocking could be heard from the other side. The castle did not seem inclined to let the three Gryffindors inside though. Maybe it had a sense of smell too, Remus thought with a grin.

"What is going on here?" McGonagall came down the stairs looking rather irritated. They must have caught her at a bad time.

"Dumgbombs in the common room Ma'am," one of the prefects announced.

"And what is that racket?" she looked to the doors and saw Remus. "Well I see Mr. Lupin. Where are the others?"

Lily pointed at the doors, "Remus wasn't there Professor."

McGonagall looked questioningly at Remus.

"I was talking to the headmaster Ma'am," Remus said truthfully.

McGonagall stalked to the doors and opened them with a flick of her wand, "Get inside here this instant!" The three dripping Marauders obeyed readily. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Slap on the wrist?" James answered hopefully.

"Points for Gryffindor?" Sirius added with a smile, which was less charming than usual with his hair plastered to his head.

Peter wisely kept his mouth shut and did not join in on the laughter of the surrounding Gryffindors.

"Did you three set off Dungbombs in the common room?" McGonagall asked in exasperation, "_Again_."

"Erm, it was an accident?" Sirius said with a look of dread on his face.

James nodded emphatically, "It really was, I swear! We dropped the bag. We wouldn't set off that many. You only need a few. That would be a waste of good Dungbombs."

There was scattered snickering at that comment and Remus just shook his head.

"See what I mean?" Lily hissed at him. "They're proud of themselves! They don't care that they got caught!"

"Of course they care," Remus countered in a whisper. "They're just trying to make the best of it."

Lily huffed and elbowed through the crowd, not willing to watch the rest.

"Detention for all three of you!" McGonagall turned. "Mr. Lupin, be glad you have an alibi or you would be joining them."

"Yes Ma'am," Remus smiled innocently at her.

McGonagall closed her eyes and shook her head before turning and leaving the three Marauders still dripping in the entrance hall. Remus joined them and cast drying and warming charms so they wouldn't get sick.

"You better clean up the floor before Pringle comes along and gives you another detention," Remus snickered.

"We dropped the bag!" James exclaimed indignantly while swishing his wand to clean up the floor. "It really was an accident!"

"I know, and so does McGonagall," Remus smiled, "but Dungbombs are restricted. You're not even supposed to have them in the castle."

"Oh yeah," Sirius stopped swishing for a moment.

Various Gryffindors glared at the Marauders as they passed on their way into the great hall for lunch, including Remus as he was guilty by association. He may have ejected the others into the rain, but he was still a Marauder.

"What did you lock us outside for?" Peter whined on their way down to the kitchens. They all agreed that they probably weren't welcome in the great hall.

"You don't smell anymore," Remus pointed out.

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	21. 20: Lessons on Life

**Chapter Twenty: Lessons on Life**

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"Will you stop that already!" Remus snapped in irritation.

Sirius froze, his feet about to kick the base of the train compartment seat again. He pulled his legs up onto the seat and sighed, "Are we there yet?"

"For the eightieth time," Remus's teeth were clenched, "no. There's at least another two hours."

"Aw Moony," James took away the book Remus was reading and passed it to Peter, who handed it off to Sirius, "is it that time of the month again?"

"Three days," Sirius grinned, finally seeing the potential for entertainment.

"My book?" Remus just glared at them.

"You can read when you get home!" James whined.

Peter's eyes grew wide when Remus's wand whipped out, and Sirius and James followed suit. He drew his own wand more slowly, "Please guys... not now... we're almost there!"

"Does Moony want his booky?" Sirius waved the book in front of him and then snatched it away before Remus moved, well aware that the werewolf's reflexes were much faster than his.

_Furnunculous!_

The one hex from Remus was enough to start the light flashing all over the compartment. James and Sirius bounced around, casting hexes at all of their friends. Peter closed his eyes tightly and cast randomly, not actually aiming. Remus dodged carefully, shielded and blocked, and cast his hexes with precision.

"Uh oh," Sirius remarked as the train began to slow.

The Marauders looked at each other and their compartment and began to cast counter-hexes and cleaning and repairing charms furiously. Still, as they left the train, James had multi-colored spots of varying sizes on his skin and Peter had what looked like a long rat's tail. They had concentrated their counter-spells on Sirius and Remus, as Remus would be going into the muggle section of the station and Sirius's family would not react well to any interesting transformations.

Remus didn't see his father anywhere and stuck with James and Peter as they all neared the large group of parents and siblings too young for Hogwarts. Students walking faster than them snickered and pointed as they walked by. Peter's face was pink with embarrassment, but James just grinned and acted like nothing was different.

Sirius separated from them as they got near the adults. He already sounded depressed, "I'll see you guys as soon as I can."

"We'll write Siri," Remus smiled and the three of them waved.

"What have you been up to this time?" Viviane Potter's voice could easily be heard over the chatter around them.

"Damn," James said under his breath, but not quietly enough to escape his mother's notice.

_Scourgify!_ Viviane's wand pointed at James's mouth, which instantly filled with pink soap bubbles that James tried to spit out. Students all around them laughed hysterically.

"Watch your language young man," Viviane scolded. Then her voice softened, "Your father asked me to bring you to the Manor Remus. He's stuck with a client."

"Did he say how long?" Remus asked.

Viviane smiled at him, "You can Floo back home after dinner with us."

Remus just nodded politely, wondering what his father was thinking. It was too close to the full moon for him to be around Aurors. James whooped and grabbed Remus's arm to drag him over to the line waiting to Floo. James went through to Potter Manor first, and by the time Remus got there James was just a streak running through the door that led outside. Remus stood and waited for Viviane Potter, who came through and clapped her hands for a house-elf. Peter tumbled out of the fireplace and Remus realized he hadn't seen Mrs. Pettigrew. Peter barely gave the two of them standing there a second glance as he tore off after James with his own war cry, tossing his own shirt to float down and land on a sofa.

"Um... Viviane?" Remus just looked towards the door in confusion. He knew his friends were a bit crazy, but this behavior was beyond their normal insanity, and James's mother didn't seem at all fazed.

"Oh," she smiled brightly at Remus, "it's their end-of-classes tradition. Both of them are in the lake by now. Don't be surprised if Frank Longbottom comes tearing through any moment now. Every year, no matter what the weather, the instant their classes ended those three boys would be jumping into the water."

Remus nodded slowly, still only partially understanding, "okay."

"Go join them dear," Viviane gave him a gently nudge towards the door. "You could use some sun. You're far too pale."

He just smiled back and set out for the lake behind Potter Manor at a more sedate pace than his friends had. As he left the Manor he saw Frank sprinting across the grounds, barefoot and shirtless. He heaved a sigh. There would be no swimming for him.

"Come in Remus!" Frank called from the water, a safe distance from the splashing of James and Peter. "The water's beautiful!"

"No thanks," Remus shook his head and sat down on the shore, leaning up against a tree, "I'm not very fond of the water."

Frank shrugged and dove under. Moments later Peter squealed and Frank popped up on the other side of James, grinning and laughing. He and James high-fived and started swimming away from Peter. When they finally left the pond Peter noticed he still had a tail. Remus just shook his head and laughed as Peter struggled with his clothes. He'd have to get one of the Potters to remove it for him, or wait and explain it his mother. James was content to let the spots fade, or perhaps to go the whole summer with multi-toned skin.

Dinner at Potter Manor was the same as always. Peter and Frank had both returned to their homes, as their parents hadn't seen them in several months and insisted on their presences. James regaled his mother with tales of their year at Hogwarts, including a detailed description of their Hogsmeade trips and multiple pranks. Remus noticed that James only told her about the mildest pranks they played and left out quite a few instances from Hogsmeade, especially the few times they went there when it wasn't a Hogsmeade weekend.

Simeon Lupin arrived just before dinner ended, looking very tired. Remus gave his father a concerned look and it was waved off. They both thanked Viviane for bringing Remus home from the station and providing dinner, and Remus promised to visit often that summer.

Things settled quickly in the Lupin cottage. Simeon prepared himself a quick meal while Remus just had tea.

"So tell me about your year," Simeon prompted Remus as they sat down. "What's this I heard about you four sending cursed mail to two Aurors?"

His tone was stern but Remus could detect the lighthearted mood and was relieved beyond words. He had thought his father would be upset with him for jeopardizing his safety by drawing attention to himself. Remus grinned and launched into his own narrative about his third year at Hogwarts, somewhat inwardly amazed that he had made it that far. He hadn't expected to find friends that would accept him for what he was, never mind become his pack.

They talked about Hogwarts, or Remus mostly talked and his father listened, until Simeon was done eating. They stayed in the kitchen though, with cups of tea that the senior Lupin refilled regularly.

"So Remus," Remus instantly listened a little more carefully. Something in his father's tone was more serious than when he had asked about how Ancient Runes was suiting him, or if he was feeling bored by his Arithmancy class. "If you were to tie a spell to a specific person, say a ward, how would you go about doing it?"

There was no way the question was purely hypothetical. Remus's mind instantly went back to the Arithmancy his father had gotten him to help with. Simeon Lupin was developing a new ward, or several new wards. The work hadn't been at a point yet where Remus could tell.

"Well, the Hogwarts wards are tied to the Headmaster, aren't they?" Remus questioned. "There's probably ancient magic from the founders that does that. If you wanted a ward that wouldn't fall unless a specific person died, then a blood link would probably be the easiest solution, but that's wandering into dark arts."

Simeon nodded thoughtfully, "What if the person needed active control over the ward, say if the ward protected something living, not just a building or area?"

"It would need to be tied to their magic," Remus sipped his tea and chewed on his lower lip, "but nobody really knows what magic _is_ or if one person's has a different signature from everyone else's. I'm pretty sure it does though. Spells from different people just _feel_ different, and wands are specific to the wizard."

"It's getting late," Simeon smiled at his son, but Remus saw some sadness, or tiredness behind that smile. "Head up to bed and we'll look at some problems tomorrow if you're game."

Remus got up and washed out his tea cup, then gave his father a quick hug before going up to his room. He stayed awake long after he got in his bed that night, thinking over what his father had asked him. There was something that nagged at him. He thought that everyone's magic was unique, otherwise it wouldn't matter what wand someone used. His mind was still whirring with thoughts of wards and blood magic as his body succumbed to sleep.

They heard very little from Sirius that summer, but his complaints were nothing like the year before. Where the Blacks had started grooming Narcissa to be the perfect wife a year earlier, they started grooming Sirius for politics and the future position as the Head of the Black Family the summer before fourth year. Sirius spent a great deal of time at the Ministry with his father and meeting with his father's associates.

According to one of the very few letters Remus saw, Sirius's father was also teaching him the family magic that summer. Only very old pureblood families had special magic tied to talents that had been bred into their lines centuries before, the ability to perform them restricted to those who carried the bloodline.

The Black Family did not openly support He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but they were very vocal in the crusade for pureblood supremacy. Sirius was actually thankful for the practice he had attempting to stay awake during History of Magic. His summer was a mixture of disgust and extreme boredom, and a little fear. Lawmaking was the most tedious thing he had ever witnessed, and it took forever to get anything done. He mostly didn't write to his friends much because he had very little to say. He didn't want to put his friends to sleep with his letters, after all. Telling them about Black magic would be pointless, as none of them could use it. Sitting in a session of the Wizengamot while they listened to Araminta try to persuade them to make muggle-hunting legal, Sirius hoped his friends were having a much more enjoyable summer than he was.

Simeon Lupin thought he had the measure of his son's friends from their previous interactions and the stories that Remus told, but he found that summer that he had drastically underestimated the whirlwind of energy that was James Potter. It was only a few days after the boys got home that Simeon got a true glimpse of what his son's friend was capable of.

Breakfast was a quiet affair for the Lupins. They didn't speak much as they consumed their eggs and rashers that morning, Simeon reading the _Daily Prophet_ while Remus just stared into space, mulling over something. Their serenity was disrupted by the sound of someone arriving through the Floo network.

The next thing Simeon knew a nearly undistinguishable blur of messy black hair, blue jeans, and a ripped shirt was grabbing food off the table and physically hauling Remus to the fireplace. He watched in amusement and a little astonishment as Remus shrugged and didn't bother to resist his friend, as he easily could if he wanted to. The Floo connection flared up again, and Simeon pitied Aaron and Viviane. There was a small smile on his face as he returned to the latest reports in the _Prophet_ which quickly faded when he read of the latest Death Eater attacks.

"We'll be back for lunch Mum!" James bellowed as he tugged Remus away from the fireplace and towards the backyard.

"Where, precisely, are you going?" Viviane Potter appeared on the stairs as they passed by, a stern look on her face, but James was so accustomed to seeing that look that he just grinned at her.

"We're storming the Ministry to demand they lower the legal age for apparition, and then maybe we'll go swimming too," James called back to her as he continued to pull his reluctant friend outside.

It took more time than usual to reach the lake, as Remus was clearly not enamored of James's plan. He couldn't be too reluctant though, as he was certainly strong enough to stop James from dragging him anywhere. James took that alone as at least partial consent. At the lake's edge James started disrobing and tossing his clothes on the ground.

"Um, James?" James turned back to see Remus still fully clothed.

James smiled encouragingly and nudged the werewolf, "Come on Remy, don't be shy. It's not like I've never seen you in the buff before."

"It's not that James," Remus sighed and James dropped his grin, giving his friend a concerned look. "It's just... I don't know how to swim."

James just looked at Remus for a few minutes, wondering how it was that anyone could _not_ know how to swim. James couldn't even remember a time when he couldn't swim. Eventually he took in the flustered bearing of his friend and realized he was staring. He smiled and hit Remus's arm with a light punch.

"You mean there's actually something you don't know?" James feigned horrified shock.

"James," Remus complained.

"I have the chance to teach something to Remus," James made sure his voice was full of awe, "all-knowing, genius of Hogwarts Remus."

"James," Remus warned.

"I'll have to remember to write this down," James smiled broadly. "No one will ever believe me!"

There was no spoken warning that time, just a steady glare that told James he should stop teasing unless he wanted to be tackled by someone who was much, much stronger than he was.

"Strip Remy," James ruffled his friend's hair. "You can't become a prefect if you don't know how to swim."

"Huh?" Remus was clearly searching his mind to figure out what James meant. "I don't think there's any rule..."

James started laughing hysterically, so hard he had to sit down, "There's no rule Remy! The tub in the prefects' bathroom is enormous. Unless you plan on using our bathroom for the rest of your school days you'll need to learn to swim."

"There's no guarantee I'll be made a prefect," Remus flushed and James almost started laughing again. "Dumbledore would have to be insane to make me a prefect... and how do you know what the prefect's bathroom looks like?"

"Do you really want to know?" James waggled his eyebrows. Remus scrunched up his face and shook his head. James took advantage of the distraction and yanked up Remus's shirt so it covered his head and held onto it. The sandy haired teen twisted out of the shirt and glared at James. "You're halfway there, now off with the shoes and into the lake."

"Is this one of those times where no matter what I say you won't give up until I do what you want?" Remus eyed James suspiciously.

"You're finally learning my dear Moony," James slung an arm over his friend's shoulders.

Remus rolled his eyes up to the sky, but proceeded to remove his shoes and trousers and walk slowly towards the water in his boxers. James cheered and bounded after him, swinging out over the lake on the rope his dad had attached to a tree long ago. He tucked his knees up and dropped into the lake with a huge splash.

Peter was not as happy as even Sirius that summer. Most witches and wizards managed to contract dragon pox before they went to Hogwarts, but Peter had not been so lucky. No matter how much time he spent with James and Frank when they had it, Peter couldn't seem to catch the disease. Then just one visit from his little cousin and he was itching so much he thought he might lose his mind. He would wake at night and no amount of scratching was enough to stop the incessant, painful itch.

His homework forgotten for the moment Peter indulged in what he considered to be some well deserved scratching. The scaly bumps all over his skin flaked as he scratched and he sighed at the relief. Dragon pox had nothing at all to do with actual dragons, it was just that the disease made one's skin resemble the scales of a Chinese Fireball. It became red, inflamed, and scaly, and stayed that way for well over a month of insane itching for which there was almost no treatment.

"That's it," Peter's mother entered his room with her wand drawn, "I have told you more times than I can count that scratching will give you scars."

With a few flicks of her wand all relief from the scratching was negated. Peter stared in horror at his hands. She had completely charmed away his nails. Why couldn't she charm away the itching?

"It has to itch before it heals," she declared before putting the potion she brought for him down on his desk with a thump. She turned to leave his room, "and I expect to see some progress on your homework by dinner!"

Peter groaned and let his head thump down on his opened Transfiguration book. He was hopeless and he knew it. If it wasn't for Remus and Lily he was willing to bet they would have sent him home long ago and declared him a squib. He'd never amount to anything on his own.

With a self-pitying sigh Peter drank his potion and returned to his homework... anything to keep his mind off the itching.

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	22. 21: Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

**Fourth Year**

**Chapter Twenty-One: Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails**

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"I won't take no for an answer," James declared stubbornly on the Hogwarts Express and crossed his arms over his chest.

The other three exchanged glances, sometimes _none_ of them could figure James out, and Remus spoke up for them, "Maybe if you asked the question first...?"

James blinked at them blankly, "You mean you can't just read my mind?"

Sirius swung his robe at James, having not put it back on after his ritual cleansing. James ducked and held his arms out. The robe wrapped around them and James pulled hard, making Sirius slip off his seat and fall to the floor with a loud thud. He pulled his wand but James just threw the robe so it covered both boy and wand.

"As I was saying...," James began imperiously.

"Or not saying...," Peter whispered loudly to Remus, who snickered.

James cleared his throat and glared at them, "This year you are all coming to Potter Manor for Christmas, no matter what You-Know-Who and his Death Munchers do. The full moon is before we leave so there should be no problems for our resident dark creature."

"You don't have to be so dramatic Jamie-kins," Remus grinned and shook his head slowly. "I'm in."

"Yeah," Peter echoed. "With all your drama someone might think you like guys or something."

The temperature in the compartment felt like it dropped a few degrees. Remus decided to be the brave one, "Would there be something wrong with that?"

"Well," Peter cowered suddenly, with all of his friends looking at him so intently, "not really. It's just... ew. I mean... guys... and guys..." He felt the blood rush to his face. "I mean, we know he likes girls. James likes Lily... right?"

Sirius smirked, "Speaking of the red-haired Aphrodite, when are you going to ask her out Jamsie-poo?"

"I will!" James protested, outwardly irritated, but inwardly praising Sirius on bended knee for changing the subject. As it was Peter got all antsy whenever James's late-night wanderings were brought up in conversation. How would he react if he knew a good portion of those were with other guys?

"You will what?" a voice asked from the doorway of their compartment.

Sirius sniffed a little, as if trying to identify a scent, "Is that Snivellus I smell?"

"I think it is," James sniffed the air as well and scrunched up his face. "Close the door and get out Snivvy. You're choking us. Have you ever come into contact with soap?"

Remus stifled a chuckle. He knew they were cruel to Snape but if the Slytherin would just leave them _alone_... Malfoy was standing behind Snape and he was smirking, most likely laughing inwardly.

"I see you didn't make Head Boy Malfoy," Sirius pointed out, "not enough bribe money from Daddy?"

The smirk changed to a sneer, "You four better watch yourselves this year, because I'm watching you."

Remus narrowed his eyes. There was something different about the blond Slytherin, something about his scent maybe, or just the general feel about him. Beside him Peter had a very mild tremor, clearly afraid. Remus put a hand on his shoulder and Peter straightened up.

"Ooo, I'm quaking in my boots," Sirius said snidely. "Go find some snakes to charm Malfoy, or maybe just my cousin. After all, she has no choice in the matter."

"At least I have prospects Black," Malfoy said in a voice that must have been practiced for maximum sliminess. "I don't see your parents signing any contracts on your behalf."

"Thank Merlin for small favors," Sirius was standing then and glaring at the two Slytherins just outside their compartments. "When I marry it will be for love, not for political or monetary gain."

The Slytherins just laughed. Snape smirked at them, "Only fools believe in _love_, but as you are a Gryffindor, I'd expect nothing less. Or maybe you just say that because no one will have you. Not even the Black name can compensate for some indiscretions."

"I want nothing to do with a wife who thinks being sorted into Gryffindor is an _indiscretion_," Sirius sneered. "Slither away Snivellous." He slammed the door and shivered and then made a noise like he had just ingested the most disgusting potion ever conceived, "Ugh, as if I didn't spend enough time with that slimy snake this summer."

"I thought you didn't have lessons with Snivvy this summer?" Peter sounded incredibly confused. He looked at Sirius quizzically.

"Not the greasy snake, Petey," Sirius snorted and rolled his eyes, "the slimy one, Malfoy."

"What was with all the marriage talk?" Remus questioned his friend, having a clue but not enough information to draw full conclusions.

Sirius flopped down on a seat and rested his legs in James's lap, "It was the summer of sales. Narcissa was sold off to the Malfoys and Belletrix to the Lestranges."

James started laughing, "I'd hate to be the Lestrange that has to deal with that harridan for the rest of his life."

The laughter was contagious. They had all had far too many run-ins with Belletrix Black and couldn't imagine being shackled to her for eternity.

"Sometimes not being a pureblood is a wonderful thing," Remus smiled slightly. There was also the small matter of being a dark creature that couldn't even kiss someone legally, never mind marry.

"The Potters stopped arranging marriages over one hundred years ago," James said with obvious relief on his face.

"Good thing for you," Sirius showed mirth suddenly, "otherwise you wouldn't be able to marry Lily."

James turned bright red as his friends picked up where they had left off teasing him about his crush. The Marauders never asked details about what Sirius was subjected to each summer, knowing that he hated to even think about it let alone discuss it with anyone.

With Hogwarts growing closer by the minute Sirius's mood grew brighter and brighter. It was infectious and the Marauders were all laughing hysterically by the time the train pulled into the station. They had to scramble to pull their robes on and were fixing up the small details of their uniforms as they climbing into the carriages.

As soon as the feast was over the Marauders headed up to their room and began unpacking their trunks. Or rather, Remus unpacked while the others tossed various belongings onto the floor, onto their beds, and into their wardrobes.

"Do you think we could start one year with a room that doesn't look like a herd of hippogriffs stampeded through it?" Remus asked with little hope of change in his friends' messy habits.

The three other Marauders just laughed, though Peter flushed and made at least a little effort to neaten his possessions somewhat.

"I got this at Gambol and Japes this summer," James pulled out a piece of parchment and handed it to Sirius. Remus grinned, having already been subjected to this particular joke.

Sirius stared it for a minute or so, before looking up at James with his eyebrows lifted, "It's a piece of parchment. What's so special about that?"

Remus made sure he was standing close enough to Sirius to see how the parchment reacted.

_And I suppose everyone sees you as a shining example of young wizardry? That's why your shirt is on inside out?_

Sirius gasped and dropped the parchment, then checked his shirt, "Hey!"

The other three were laughing before the parchment hit the floor. James scooped it up and Peter tripped over his new History of Magic book, creasing a few of the pages. Remus cringed automatically, but had gotten somewhat accustomed to the lack of care his friends had for their books and clothes. Joke supplies and gags were another subject altogether. James carefully tucked the parchment into his potions book.

"Calm down Siri," Remus grinned. "The parchment can't tell if your shirt is inside out, upside down, or spontaneously combusting. It just insults anyone who talks while they're holding it."

A mischievous glint appeared first in Sirius's eyes and traveled until each Marauder was thinking the same thing. Snape was going to hate that piece of parchment by the end of the week.

It didn't take long for them to put that prank into effect. The decided on the great hall for maximum humiliation effect and lunch time as a meal when they could actually arrive early enough. All they had to do was huddle around the parchment and whisper secretively when Snape was nearby, one of them saying 'Snivellous' every now and then.

Snape pushed Peter, the easiest target of the four, aside and grabbed the parchment, "What's this? If you four are that interested in it I'm sure it's been banned from the school."

His eyes grew wide, then his face started to turn a most unbecoming shade of red, and he narrowed his eyes at the parchment, "I do not!"

Sirius snatched the parchment out of Snape's hands and started howling with laughter. He passed it to Peter, who dodged Snape and read it before giving it to James. It made it to Remus last and looked down at the words written there.

_You seem even more interested in me than they are sweetie. Have a thing for parchment, do you? I've heard of boys who swing both ways, but you've taken it to a whole new level._

Remus lifted his eyebrows and wondered exactly how this parchment was enchanted. What it was saying certainly wouldn't be appropriate for children. The message faded away and Remus heard Snape stalking over to the Slytherin table. McGonagall was giving the Marauders a stern look, so Remus slipped the parchment into his bag.

"Hey," Peter said in an undertone and leaned towards the rest of them. The other three Marauders brought their heads together with his automatically. "We were looking for a way to disguise the map. What if we can make it do what the parchment does if whoever has it doesn't use the password?"

James grasped Peter's head and kissed his forehead, "Peter you are brilliant!"

"James!" Peter protested and started wiping his forehead with his sleeve.

"There are napkins on the table," Remus handed one to the shortest Marauder, who flushed and started to use it in lieu of his sleeve. He ate a bite of spinach and mushroom quiche and thought about Peter's suggestion, "It could work."

"Really?" Sirius looked amazed and excited. "How would we know what spells to use, though? We haven't found anything like that."

"It's not that hard," Remus's mind was already picking apart the problem. He knew exactly which books he needed from the library to help him out, "We just have to isolate the individual spells, deconstruct them, and then we'll know how to enchant the map."

"Oh well if that's all..." James looked at Remus like he was insane. "We don't learn anything like that in Arithmancy until seventh year, and what we do learn is nowhere near that complex."

"It can't be any harder than developing new spells," Remus said rather innocently.

James looked at the werewolf with unmasked awe, while the others just did their best to follow the conversation. As neither Sirius nor Peter were enrolled in Arithmancy they had no idea what was going on.

"How many spells have you developed?" James questioned Remus.

Remus shifted uncomfortably. He knew that his Arithmancy skills were way beyond those of his classmates, and he knew that Professor Bones was always giving him advanced work to do without any comment on the level. Eventually the professor was going to go to Dumbledore about Remus and find out exactly why he couldn't apprentice for a Mastery.

"A few," Remus responded vaguely, "but mostly just helping my father."

James just blinked at him, but thankfully didn't say anything more. Sirius and Peter both looked confused, knowing they had missed something. Luckily for Remus, before either of them could start hounding him with questions it was time to head to their next class. James and Remus were silent as they walked to Arithmancy together.

"We have finished our review," Professor Bones announced to the class. "Today I will be starting you on a new class of equations. As you can see on the board we will be introducing multiple variables. You will all need to write this down, so just follow along with me."

James paid close attention to their professor, but when he glanced over at Remus's notes he saw calculations that James could not even hope to understand just then. He knew that Remus sometimes helped his father, but he had thought that he did simple stuff for him. Professor Bones had singled Remus out as a promising student, but James had no idea just how promising Remus was.

He wondered why his friend even bothered to take the class. The stuff on his parchment had to be seventh year level or even higher. Then James remembered that Remus had started reading his father's books when James was learning to fly a broom. He had assumed before that Remus had meant books like first year Charms and Transfiguration, not Master level Arithmancy.

What sort of seven year old could do this kind of work? James always knew that Remus was smarted than the rest of them put together, but now he thought that his friend was a certifiable genius, a prodigy even.

That was when it hit him. Remus was a werewolf. No matter how smart he was, no matter how talented, he could never do official study after Hogwarts. He probably wouldn't even be able to find a job that made use of his knowledge and skills. No firm would hire a dark creature.

Never before had his friend's affliction seemed so terrible. When James graduated he would go on to Auror training. With his family and his grades it was a given. When Remus graduated he would be lucky to find a menial job that paid his rent, granted he could find someone to lease an apartment to him.

It wasn't fair, not fair at all. Professor Bones wound up the lecture for the day and assigned them a chapter to read in their book and the equations at the end of the chapter. James was frowning as they headed towards Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"What's bugging you?" Remus questioned him. "You barely paid attention in class, and you weren't staring all misty eyed at Lily."

"I do not stare at her, misty eyed or otherwise!" James protested and smacked Remus's arm. He saw the mischievous look in his friend's eyes and realized that Remus had been intentionally provoking him to pull him out of his pensive thoughts. "If you must know, I saw what you were doing in class and my brain couldn't handle it so it shut down."

Remus laughed at him and James tugged at the sleeve of Remus's robe, "C'mon. We have to get good seats for all four of us and Siri and Peter are further away."

They quickened their pace towards the Defense classroom. Peter had to come all the way from Divination in the North Tower, though why he had signed up for that class was beyond James, and Sirius was probably lounging in Gryffindor Tower until the last possible minute. They were some of the first to arrive and grabbed seats at the back of the classroom. Remus always protested sitting in the back, but acquiesced every time.

"So what were you doing in Arithmancy?" James asked Remus while they were waiting for Sirius and Peter.

Remus had a smug look, "I was starting to work on those spells for the map."

"Already?" James felt excitement coursing through him. He wished they could ask Remus for help on the animagus transformation. With the werewolf's brain at work he had no doubt the process would speed up dramatically.

"You see...," Remus began, "I was thinking...," James groaned internally. Whenever Remus started a conversation like that it meant hours in the library. "It's not just the spells on the joke parchment that have to be deciphered. We also have to link it to the password, and I was thinking we might be able to enchant the map with our personalities somewhat."

"Really?" James perked up. If they could imprint their personalities on the map imagine what it could come up with as insults for the Slytherins!

Remus nodded and tapped his quill against his parchment, ready for class to begin though they had at least three more minutes, "It shouldn't be too hard... though it would be borderline dark. We wouldn't be using blood or anything like that, but we'd be giving the parchment sentience, of a sort."

"How is that different from what I have?" James asked, almost entirely ignoring Peter and Sirius as they came into the room breathless and sat on either side of Remus and him.

"Try carrying on a conversation with your parchment," Remus suggested with a little smile. "You won't really be able to. All it can do is insult, based on what you say. It can't really interact."

"You can make the map better even?" Sirius joined in from next to James.

"Mm, hm," Remus's eyes went slightly distant, and James knew he was back to his calculations, only he was working in his head instead of on the parchment.

"Perhaps you would like to join the rest of the class gentlemen?" Professor Fenwick sounded both amused and irritated. "Or is your conversation more important than your House standing?"

The Marauders all looked up to see that their classmates were up against one wall while they were still sitting and talking. All four of them flushed and packed their books away before getting up to join the others.

"Sorry Professor," they murmured as one.

"If the four of you have to share one brain, please make it Mr. Lupin's," Fenwick looked at them with definite amusement now. "At least he _usually_ pays some attention to his teachers." The other students were laughing now and the crimson shade on the faces of the Marauders was getting darker.

"As there appears to be only brain among you I will only subtract ten points from Gryffindor for your inattention. Now, who can tell the rest of us how to stun your opponent?" Fenwick had a small, almost not there smile as several members of the class raised their hands. The Marauders all looked at each other with eager anticipation in their eyes. Finally this class was getting really interesting.

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	23. 22: It's All Fun and Games

**Chapter Twenty-Two: It's All Fun and Games**

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"So Lily, where shall we meet this afternoon?" James asked over breakfast.

"Meet? What are you talking about James Potter?" Lily looked up from her eggs and Remus hid his snicker. Sirius and Peter were not quite as successful.

James looked innocent, as though Lily should have known all along, "Our first date of course."

"Then we are meeting nowhere because there is not a first date for us, and there never will be!" Lily announced and left the great hall in a huff, followed by her roommates, Bea and Von looking highly amused. Alice was at the Ravenclaw table, presumably holding hands with Frank. It was hard to tell, but Remus couldn't see their hands at all and they both had mildly goofy looks on their faces.

Once the girls were gone the snickers turned into full-blown laughs and Remus patted James on the back, "Smooth Jamsie, real smooth."

"Some friends you are," James mumbled.

Sirius raised his eyebrows, "There's a girl _you_ can't get and you expect _us_ to help? There's something very wrong with that scenario."

"Let's just go," James grumped and stood up.

"Ah, no," Sirius lamented dramatically and leaned on James, "off to Hogsmeade, the travesty! The horror! The torture! Will we make it to tomorrow?"

"Git," James shoved Sirius, but the beginnings of a smile were there.

Sirius grinned and jumped up and down, pointing at James, "Hah! Made you smile!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Remus leaned over to Peter, "Do you ever feel like a babysitter around those two?"

Peter snorted, "Do you ever not?" at the same time James yelled with a grin, "Hey, I resemble that remark!"

It never took long to restore James to a good mood, though every time he saw Lily that day he turned around and headed in the other direction. In Zonko's the Marauders purchased much more than was on their list. After all, there was no telling when smoke pellets and dungbombs would come in handy. Any professor who ordered a Marauder to turn out their pockets, with the exception of Remus who was much neater and hid things better, invariably ended up regretting it. It was not as messy as asking the same of Hagrid, but usually more detrimental to the health of those nearby.

The Shrieking Shack didn't hold the same interest for the Marauders as it did for the other students in Hogsmeade, for obvious reasons. So once they completed their morning of shopping in Zonko's, Honeydukes, and the apothecary, had a round of butterbeers with lunch, and James and Sirius flirted shamelessly with Madame Rosmerta in an effort to get something a little stronger than butterbeer, the Marauders were actually bored in Hogsmeade.

They slowly made their way back towards the castle, kicking stones and complaining that they had gotten used to Hogsmeade way too quickly. They made plans to work on the map some. Remus had an idea for a charm that would identify the people in the school on the map, even as they moved around. The sheer number of possibilities for their pranks that the idea offered had James and Sirius drooling and ready to do any research necessary.

Remus spotted a small group of first and second years staring at the Whomping Willow with a bit too much interest and whispering to each other. It was nearing the end of October, and a bit chilly to be standing around outside.

"Something's going on," Remus said, allowing his senses to pick up a bit. "Let's go check it out."

"They're first and second years Remus," James complained. "They're just kids." Remus just stopped and glared. As usual it worked almost instantly, "Oh fine, but I'm going straight back to the castle if they're just being stupid."

The Marauders walked over to the group, mostly Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, though there were a few Ravenclaws and even Slytherins as well. Peter, as the smallest and least recognizable Marauder, walked up to one of the Hufflepuffs he didn't know, "What's going on?"

The Hufflepuff laughed, "Someone bet Davey Gudgeon a Galleon that he wouldn't touch the Whomping Willow's trunk."

"You WHAT?" Remus yelled in disbelief and then started giving orders. The students all jumped and looked at the Marauders wide-eyed. "Peter run and get a professor, any professor, quickly. The bloody idiot is going to get himself killed." Remus glared at the group of eleven and twelve-year-olds, "Don't any of you leave. I know who each and every one of you is and if you don't stick around you will be in bigger trouble than you could possibly imagine."

Remus ran towards the tree, throwing his cloak to the ground as he went, with James and Sirius following him. James was closest behind Remus, "Remus wait! Damn it Remus!"

Remus ignored his friends. As he ran towards the tree, hoping just to scoop Davey up and get him out its reach, the tree took hold of the scrawny second year and whipped him up into the air. He heard James and Sirius curse behind him, getting further back with each passing moment. Remus stopped just out of reach of the tree and for the first time he willed the wolf to the foreground of his consciousness, rather easy with the full moon that night.

It was as if the tree was suddenly moving a little more slowly. Remus could see each individual branch as they swept about and tossed the boy around like a rag doll. He pulled off his robes and dress shirt, standing in undershirt and trousers. Remus saw his chance and darted in, taking hold of a branch and swinging himself up.

"Remus!" Sirius yelled at him. "Wait for the professors!"

Remus could tell his friends had just reached the edge of the tree's territory. He knew the professors were still far away and might not get there in time to save Davey from the tree. Remus could hear every word his friends were speaking, but there was no way they would be able to hear him. Smaller branches managed to scrape his arms and back a bit but he avoided worse damage. He jumped up another branch and pointed his wand at his throat, _Sonorous!_

"Immobilus on three!" On the edge of his vision James and Sirius pulled out their wands. There was a crowd forming. "One, two, three, _Immobilus!_"

The tree froze under the combined strength of at least eight spells. Other upper year students that had gathered had caught on and aided the Marauders. With everyone's attention on Remus and Davey no one noticed the rather large opening at the roots of the tree. Remus could hear Davey crying high above him and he climbed carefully, not wanting to wake the tree or give himself away. As it was he would probably just be called a foolish brave Gryffindor and ridiculously lucky. While he climbed he took the spell off his vocal cords.

A branch was wrapped tightly around Davey and there was blood covering his face. The smell was enough to drive Remus crazy but he couldn't shut the wolf away yet. He made his way up to the highest branches and pushed himself out on the branch that held Davey until he was right next to the hysterical boy.

"Davey," Remus repeated his name until the second year acknowledged him. "Hold onto me tight Davey and I'm going to break the tree's hold."

Davey nodded and let Remus guide his arms around his neck. The boy gripped tightly, and took a fistful of Remus's undershirt in his hand. Blood and tears stained the shirt and Remus knew he would have to throw it away, and probably his trousers as well. No matter what the house elves did to clean them he would always smell the blood.

Remus knew he could just tear the end of the tree's limb off with his bare hands, but no one else in the school could do the same. He pointed his wand with one hand and grabbed the branch with the other. He murmured a spell under his breath that wouldn't really do anything, but Davey wouldn't know that. With his other hand he pulled and freed Davey from the tree's grasp. Davey's legs instantly latched onto Remus the moment they were free.

"I need my arms and legs to get us down, so just hold on," Remus said as soothingly as possible. "Everything will be okay."

It took longer to reach the ground than it had taken Remus to climb, and the tree was starting to stir as he stepped to the last few branches. He got out of reach of the tree just as Madam Pomfrey, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Sprout came running from the castle with Peter panting behind them. Remus ignored the tree that started to thrash behind him and headed towards the professors, rubbing Davey's back soothingly. He ignored that Sirius and James had gathered up his cloak, robes, and shirt and fallen in behind him.

Madam Pomfrey tried to take Davey from his arms but the boy clung to him, refusing to let go, "Very well. Bring him up to the hospital wing Mr. Lupin. Ten points to each of you that helped him."

Remus continued to lead the way and as he passed the group of first and second year students that had not moved from where he left them, his anger rose. Once let out of his cage the wolf was difficult to contain and Remus at that moment had no desire to separate himself from the wolf again. He found he still had some control over his actions and thoughts with the increase of the senses and his strength from the wolf.

Sirius, James, and Peter fell behind and stayed with Professor McGonagall and the group of young students. Remus heard them clearly though he was far past them. McGonagall ordered the audience to get back inside the castle and prepared to lecture the young students, but Sirius put a hand on her arm and whispered something in her ear.

"Wait for Remus Ma'am," Sirius said with a slight grin. "You can give them all detention but after what they just saw they'll listen to him... and he's furious. You've never really seen him mad Ma'am. He can be scary."

Professor McGonagall raised her eyes at Sirius and paused, as if taking his words into consideration. She turned to the students, "You will all sit right here and wait for news of your friend. In that time there will be no speaking. Think on what happened here today and what part you played." With a small smile that frightened a few of the students she addressed Sirius, "Mr. Black I am leaving you, Mr. Potter, and Mr. Pettigrew in charge until I return. Do not let anyone speak or attempt to leave."

The Gryffindors in the group all paled instantly, their eyes wide and frightened, and the others looked uneasy at the reaction from Sirius's own House. Of all the Marauders to be left in control of them Sirius was the worst, though just then he might have been preferable to Remus. Sirius rested his forearm on Peter's shoulder and leaned against him, twirling his wand in the other hand. James whispered something in Sirius's ear which made a small, but evil looking, smile form. There was not a sound or movement out of the group of young students.

"Davey let go," Remus said gently. "Madam Pomfrey can't take care of you if you don't let go."

"Stay?" Davey whimpered pathetically.

"I won't go anywhere," Remus promised. Davey released his hold and Remus gently settled him on a bed. He knew from the look in the one eye that was open and free of blood that the pain was great enough that Davey's mind was clouded and blocking the majority of it out.

Madam Pomfrey washed his face off with a simple spell and cast several spells to diagnose the extent of the injury. Remus paid little attention to anything except the small hand that was squeezing his. There was a gash across Davey's face that crossed one eye. His body was littered with bruises and smaller cuts, the worst of the bruises around his hips where the tree had held him.

Professor McGonagall came in and walked straight to them, "How is he?"

"Floo Mungo's Minerva," Madam Pomfrey said as she poured a potion down Davey's throat. "We need a specialist for that eye. Broken bones and bruises I can fix, but not something this bad."

McGonagall crossed to the hospital wing fireplace and returned moments later with a man wearing stark white robes. He leaned over the bed and examined Davey's eye, muttering various spells under his breath. He looked up at the hospital matron, "He should be out for this. It is going to hurt."

Davey whimpered and squeezed Remus's hand. Remus put his other hand on the top of Davey's head, "Don't worry Davey. The Healer will take care of everything. You'll be better before you know it."

"You shouldn't be here," the Healer addressed Remus as Madam Pomfrey came back with another vial. Remus recognized it as a powerful sleeping potion that he had taken several times.

"No!" Davey cried and squeezed Remus's hand even harder, surprising Remus with the strength he was able to muster.

"Sorry sir, I promised," Remus looked straight at the Healer.

The man looked back and forth between Davey and Remus and sighed, "Fine. You should get those cuts looked at when we're done."

Remus smiled, "I'm sure Madam Pomfrey will take care of me."

When the Healer acquiesced to let Remus stay Davey submitted and drank the potion, falling instantly into a deep sleep. Even in sleep he held tight to Remus's hand as the Healer worked on his eye. There was deep green glow under the man's wand as he held it to Davey's face and the Healer's face was taught with concentration.

Madam Pomfrey handed the Healer a goblet with a Replenisher Potion to bring the man's magic levels back to normal. Healers frequently exhausted their magical supply in their work, "Thank you."

"No, thank you Kevin," Madam Pomfrey smiled at him. "I couldn't have saved his eye. Now he'll be out of here tomorrow, almost as good as new."

Kevin smiled, "It's thanks to you that I'm doing this work." He looked down at Davey again. "He'll have that scar forever, but at least he has his eye."

Davey's grip finally relaxed as he fell deeper into a healing sleep. Remus flexed his hand and the knuckles cracked. He moved Davey's hand under the sheet and brushed the hair off his face. The deep gash had closed and was pink with new skin, running in a jagged line through the right eyebrow, across the eyelid, and onto his cheek.

"So long as I'm here let me take a look at you," Kevin addressed Remus. He blinked when he saw that the small cuts and bruises were already healing. "That shouldn't be, unless..." his educated eyes searched Remus and widened.

Remus looked to Madam Pomfrey, who rested a hand on Kevin's shoulder, "There is nothing unusual about him Kevin, is there?"

Kevin raised his eyebrows at the pointed look Madam Pomfrey gave him. He waited a beat and looked back and forth between Remus and Pomfrey, "No Poppy, I don't suppose there is. I have to get back now."

He stood and walked over to the fireplace, leaving a few instructions for Davey's care and saying his good-byes to Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall. Remus knew that Davey would sleep soundly for several hours at least and a glance out the window showed the group of young students sitting silently with Sirius, James, and Peter standing over them and discussing something.

Remus's eyes narrowed and he stood swiftly. A split second of hesitation and he decided that he should remain dressed as he was for the impact of the stained shirt and trousers. He would change later. If he had been wearing a cloak it would have been flowing out behind him, whipping in the wind left in his wake. His mind was directed ahead of him with such focus that he did not notice Professor McGonagall following behind him with an appraising gaze.

As he strode outside he saw the first and second year students begin to stir slightly. A few of them looked mildly ill at the blood drying on Remus's shirt. James, Sirius, and Peter stopped talking and stood behind him as he glared at the young wizards and witches, his eyes blazing, "What in Merlin's name were you fools thinking?"

There was no answer to his nearly whispered question. The students all stood and shuffled in place. Remus didn't have to yell. His quiet tone quite obviously masked very serious anger.

"Do you think the rules of this school are in place so Pringle gets some help with his work?" Remus made eye contact with each one of them as he spoke and they withered and cringed under his gaze. "Does the word 'dangerous' mean nothing to you? How many of you were involved in this?" One by one at least ten of the students raised their hands, including every Gryffindor there. Remus held out his hand, "Give me the Galleons." A small fortune was soon amassed in Remus's hand. James held out the now-empty money bag he had brought to Hogsmeade and Remus took it without a glance back at his friend. "If a specialist from Mungo's hadn't been available Davey would have lost his eye. He touched the trunk. I hope you were all entertained."

Remus turned to go back inside, not bothering to see the reaction his scolding got, and came to face to face with his Head of House. "Professor," he said in surprise, amazed he hadn't been aware of her presence, "I didn't see you there."

Professor McGonagall smiled at him, "You're forgiven. The headmaster will wish to see you to commend you himself for your quick thinking today."

"It was more of a lack of thinking Ma'am," Remus admitted and brushed a nervous hand through his hair. The anger was dissipating and the wolf calming. "I just did what had to be done."

"It was very brave despite the thought process, or lack thereof. There is not a doubt in my mind that you saved Mr. Gudgeon's life," Professor McGonagall said proudly. James noticed a few of the still gathered students flinch. "You and your friends may leave. I suggest you change before returning to the hospital wing. It will be at least another hour before he wakes."

"Yes Ma'am," Remus didn't feel particularly proud of himself, but he smiled just slightly when he heard McGonagall behind him as he headed back inside.

"Well," McGonagall said in true lecture mode, "I can see you all understand the severity of your actions. To ensure you do not forget your lesson, I believe Professor Sprout has a greenhouse that needs to be thoroughly cleaned and prepared for planting. Perhaps the work will teach you to respect magical plants in the future. Five points are subtracted from each of you. Report to her at once."

Remus stripped off his bloody clothes and threw them aside. He decided that the socks and pants were a loss as well and added them to the pile. He would have to figure out a way to salvage the shoes. New shoes were expensive. He grabbed a towel and headed for the shower.

"Are you okay Remus?" Sirius asked after Remus hadn't said a word to his friends since getting their help to freeze the tree.

Remus turned back and his eyes were full of guilt, "There's a passage under the Whomping Willow that leads to the Shrieking Shack. That's how I get there every month." His friends all had blank looks on their faces, not understanding why Remus was upset. "Don't you see? They planted the tree for me, built the tunnel for me, all this trouble so a werewolf could attend the school and what happens? Some poor kid nearly loses an eye! Next time there might not be a werewolf there who can climb a thrashing tree and the kid will die!"

"Remus..." Sirius stepped forward but Remus ignored him and went to take a shower, to wash off Davey Gudgeon's blood before he went insane from the smell.

"Not now Siri," James said quietly. "We'll be here Remy."

Peter held his ruined clothes up when he came back from the shower, the scratches from the tree already gone, "What should we do with these?"

"Burn them," Remus replied as he got some fresh clothes out of his wardrobe. "Nothing will ever get the smell out."

Peter shrugged and tossed the clothing into the fire. James was working on some homework and Sirius was reading something. He looked up from the book, "You know it's not your fault, right Remy?"

Remus nodded, "Yeah I know. Davey was bound to do something this stupid eventually."

"If it wasn't the tree he would have been jumping from a broom twenty feet in the air or drinking some botched potion that turned out to be poison," James smiled at him. "I think his daring days might be over though."

"Doubt it," Sirius grinned. "That kid's a born daredevil. He'll be up and risking his life in no time."

Dumbledore had been waiting for Remus to wake up from his transformation the next day. He awarded the still not completely coherent werewolf one hundred points for saving the life of a fellow student. Remus might have thought he dreamed it if he hadn't seen the change in the hourglasses that recorded the house points.

Sirius was wrong. Davey passed up at least five opportunities to earn some Galleons with some stunt or another. He was quieter and a little withdrawn, doing his homework in a corner of the common room and not joining in on the jokes his friends made at the Gryffindor table during meals. The Marauders all watched as Davey's friends failed at every attempt to bring the boy back to normal. He didn't even laugh at the myriad of pranks the Marauders planned to be triggered when the boy was around just to get a smile out of him.

"Okay, I've had enough," Remus declared and shoved his books into his bag. It was just over a month after the 'Whomping Willow Incident', as it had been named by Gryffindor Tower in a show of uncreativity, and the students would leave for the winter holiday the next day. Remus had become a minor celebrity in the school after saving Davey's life and earning so many points for Gryffindor in one go.

The attention he received was disquieting, especially the shy smiles from several girls. Lily, Alice, and James all looked up from their Arithmancy as Remus crossed the room to where Davey was sitting, having just been allowed to remove the patch that had been covering his injured eye. Sirius and James had taken to calling him 'Cyclops', but even that didn't get a rise out of the kid, "You are coming with me."

Remus physically pulled Davey to his feet and the boy followed mutely behind him. They walked through the corridors and out of the castle into the bitter cold air without a question from the formerly inquisitive second year boy. Davey stopped, though, when he saw where their path was leading them. Remus grabbed his arm and pulled him along. Davey had to keep walking or he would have been literally dragged. Remus stopped just barely out of reach of the Whomping Willow.

"So Davey," Remus said, casually watching the tree trash just in front of them, "what's wrong?"

Davey was shivering, as they didn't have their cloaks on. He flinched whenever the tree got near and was hiding behind Remus. There was no one else outside, "Why did you do it? _How_ did you do it?"

Remus shrugged, not about Davey the full truth on either of those questions, "I was there, there were no professors. Someone had to do it... and I must just have a surplus of Gryffindor luck."

"It was really brave," Davey said in a small voice. "I'm not brave, I'm stupid."

Remus laughed and Davey looked up at him, a little mad, "There's a fine line between the two. If I had been hurt, and didn't get to you, I would have been told it was stupid for me to try to save you, not brave. You don't have to prove that you're brave Davey. The sorting hat put you in Gryffindor because it thought you belong with us."

"I was almost a Hufflepuff," Davey was still unconvinced.

"I was almost a Ravenclaw," Remus replied and shrugged. "My dad was in Ravenclaw. There's nothing wrong with Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or even Slytherin... though don't expect to hear me say that ever again. Siri and James would lynch me. I think loyalty is an excellent trait to have in such abundance that the hat considered Hufflepuff for you."

"Thank you for saving me," Davey said, sniffling. "My parents freaked when the headmaster told them to come here. They want to meet you sometime, but Dumbledore said you were sick." Davey paused and then continued in a small, uncertain voice. "It wasn't because of me, was it?"

"Is that what's been bothering you?" Remus asked in a moment of sudden clarity, touched by the concern.

Davey nodded miserably, "I was out of the hospital wing the next morning, but you were there for two days."

Remus looked down at the twelve year old for a long moment and sighed, "It had nothing to do with you Davey."

"But..." Gryffindor spirit pushed the kid forward and Remus inwardly groaned.

"Tell me how your classes are going," he supposedly changed the subject.

"Okay I guess," Davey shrugged. "I'm okay at Potions... and pretty good with Charms... but not so good at Astronomy."

"Do you like Defense?" Remus asked, praying he was making the right choice.

Davey nodded and smiled, "It's fun. I can't wait until we start dueling and learning about curses and stuff."

"You're doing dark creatures now, right?" Remus asked as though he couldn't quite remember. He knew exactly what the second year defense class covered at that time of the year.

"Yup," Davey smiled. "I just finished that werewolf paper. I had to do the one about myths and realities. Did you know that... actually you probably do."

Remus laughed, "Can you keep a very important secret Davey?"

Davey looked at him in confusion but nodded, "I _was_ almost a Hufflepuff."

"I doubt any other student _could_ have saved you Davey," Remus said, a bit uncomfortable. "What I'm about to tell you, only the headmaster, a few of the professors, and my roommates know. You can't tell anyone, not your parents, not your friends, no one, got it?" Davey nodded. "I was able to save you because I'm a werewolf Davey. There was a full moon that night and I was locked away so I couldn't hurt anyone. I was recovering the days after."

Davey's eyes were as wide open as they could get, whether from fear or awe Remus couldn't tell, and he didn't want to let the wolf find out for him.

"Really?" Davey recovered the ability to speak after a full minute of staring. "And your friends all know?"

Remus nodded, "You're not afraid?"

Davey shook his head, "You saved my life Remus, and you could have just waited for the professors like everyone else."

"Gryffindors really are stupidly brave," Remus shook his head. "The idiots I room with reacted the same way as you."

"I won't tell anyone Remus, I swear," Davey smiled up at him, a little of the old Davey coming back, and hugged him. Remus hugged the twelve year old back and they just stood there for a few minutes. "Can you teach me how to play pranks like you and your friends? The Slytherins in my year have been really nasty all month and I'm dying to get back at them."

Remus raised his eyebrows, "I've created a monster. Let's get inside before we really get sick and Madam Pomfrey yells at us. Now _she's_ scary."

Davey looked at the swinging branches of the Whomping Willow in surprise, "I forgot it was there, and we were so close."

"I had an eye on it the whole time," Remus reassured the second year.

"My own personal guardian werewolf," Davey grinned cheekily. Remus cuffed him around the head and dragged him back towards the castle. Davey pushed away and ran ahead, "Last one inside's a flobberworm!"

"Prepare to be fish bait worm!" Remus ran after him and made sure to beat him... but just barely.

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	24. 23: Christmas at the Manor

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Christmas at the Manor**

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"You _told_ him?" Sirius looked at Remus in shock on the train ride to King's Cross. "We were in the dark for over a year and you just _told_ the kid?"

Remus sighed. He had a feeling that at least one of them would react like that. Peter didn't seem to mind. James looked a little upset, but not nearly as upset and hurt as Sirius both sounded and looked.

"Did you guys actually see how depressed Davey was?" Remus asked Sirius, determined not to back away.

"Of course we did. That's why we pranked anyone who was near him and we didn't even get a rise out of the kid. What does that have to do with it?" James asked. "Wouldn't you think telling him would just freak him out?"

Remus looked at them coldly, "He was depressed because he thought I got hurt rescuing him, worse than he did. When his parents asked to meet me he found out I was in a private room in the hospital wing. He was blaming himself."

"Oh," James said knowingly. "I see what you mean."

"I guess it made the kid better," Sirius grumped and flopped into a seat. He still didn't like it, but he understood why Remus told the second year at least.

There was a knock on their compartment door, the cart lady with lunch. James bought an enormous amount of sweets, insisting lunch was on him since he was the host for the holiday. Two chocolate frogs later Sirius was in a good mood again and James was telling them all about the Potter family Christmas traditions. The excitement was contagious, and aided by copious amounts of sugar and plans to sneak some Ogden's Firewhiskey for their own New Year's celebration.

The platform was just as crowded as it was at the beginning and end of each school year. The Marauders each had their school bags with their possessions shrunken inside. James had told them all to bring dress robes, and Remus had to send a letter home asking his father to send his to Potter Manor. A letter had replied much more quickly than usual assuring Remus that his robes would get to Potter Manor in plenty of time.

"Remus! Remus!" Remus heard the voice calling him name over the bustle of students and parents.

"I'll catch up in a minute guys," Remus said and weaved his way through the crowd.

Davey Gudgeon grabbed him as he walked by and tugged on his arm, "My parents and my uncle want to meet you. Mum and Dad were upset they couldn't thank you at Hogwarts."

Remus was pulled over to two wizards and a witch standing off to the side of the crowd. He smiled a bit shyly as he approached and held out his hand, "Hi. I'm Remus Lupin."

Davey's mother ignored the hand and hugged Remus tightly, "Thank you so much for saving my baby."

"Mum," Davey whined, clearly embarrassed. "You promised."

Mrs. Gudgeon pulled back and wiped away tears, "Please call me Rebecca, Remus."

"And I'm Alan," Mr. Gudgeon hugged Remus as well. "This is my uncle Joseph."

Remus turned to the man standing furthest from the crowd and his eyes widened momentarily. The man had no scent, no heartbeat. Remus cocked his head slightly and strained his senses, trying to block out the crowd. Davey's Uncle Joseph smiled and Remus saw the slightly pointed incisors, "Ah, that explains much. I was not sure why Davey wanted me to meet him today until just now."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Remus spoke honestly. It was no wonder that Davey wasn't afraid. There was a tug on his arm and Remus leaned down.

"Told you your secret is safe with me," Davey whispered in his ear. Remus saw that the uncle heard and smiled.

Remus laughed and looked back at Davey's uncle, "Are you Davey's true uncle?"

"There are actually several greats before the Uncle part, but the family just ignores those," Uncle Joseph spoke lowly but Remus of course had no trouble hearing him. Davey's parents were watching the exchange with a bit of amazement and definite understanding.

"I'd like to speak to you again sometime, sir, but my friends are waiting for me now," Remus gestured to where the Marauders and Potters were standing, watching them with poorly masked curiosity.

Joseph nodded and bowed respectfully to Remus's surprise, "Consider yourself a member of the family Remus. You have done us a great service."

"Thank you, sir," Remus grinned, returned the bow, and ruffled Davey's hair. "I'll see you in a few weeks."

Remus said good-bye to each of the Gudgeons and ran off to join his friends.

"What was that all about," Viviane Potter asked Remus with a mystified smile.

Remus just mumbled under his breath, "Nothing."

James and Sirius instantly saw their chance, but James beat Sirius to the punch, "You are never going to believe what Remus did Mum..."

James had to pause briefly for the Portkey trip to Potter Manor but took up exactly where he left as though there was no interruption. He and Sirius went back and forth, telling the story in great detail with wild gestures. The Potters looked rather impressed with the telling and Remus was duly embarrassment by the time the slightly exaggerated tale was over.

"Well," Aaron said with a laugh, "I'm sure all the facts were in there somewhere. I was wondering when we'd see your Gryffindor side Remus. I could have sworn you were a Ravenclaw in disguise."

"Dad was in Ravenclaw," Remus acknowledged. "It was close, but you can see what the hat chose."

"The headmaster would already have told your father all about this," Viviane remarked. "He'll be joining us for Christmas dinner, the Pettigrews as well. We'll have several families over for New Year's." She smiled at the boys. "Now, Remus is in the red room. Sirius is in the gold room. Peter is in the blue room."

James led the way upstairs and showed Sirius where he was staying. Remus was in the same room he had been in every time he had visited and Peter knew the Manor nearly as well as James did. They all gathered in James's room and James and Sirius demanded to know what the conversation with Davey's family was.

Remus started laughing so hard his eyes began to water. When his friends started to look irritated for being kept in the dark he grinned, "You can all rest assured that Davey will never tell anyone my secret."

"How can you be sure?" James asked warily. "I'm sure we can arrange an Obliviate if we need to."

Remus grinned, "His uncle is a vampire."

"WHAT?" Sirius fell off the bed with a thump. Peter gasped, his eyes wide and round. James just stared at Remus with his jaw dropped.

"You just met a vampire?" James whispered, his face pale. "There was a vampire at the station?"

Remus rolled his eyes, "You spend enough time with a werewolf. A vampire shouldn't really faze you." Seeing their expressions hadn't changed much Remus smile and continued, approaching lecture mode, "Werewolves have nothing to fear from vampires. As they're already cursed, the vampire curse cannot turn them. I've also read something about werewolf blood tasting bad and vampires having some amount of control over the transformed wolf." All three of them suddenly looked afraid, not of the vampire but for Remus. He sighed and shook his head, "He told me I'm a member of the family. To a vampire that's..."

"Huge," Sirius finished for him. "Does that make us...?"

Remus pondered that one. There was almost nothing written on the dynamics of interaction between werewolves and vampires because there were so few vampires and not many academics deemed either dark creature very worthy of studying to begin with, except for how to avoid or kill them. "I have no idea."

James feigned shock, "The world is coming to an end! Remus doesn't know the answer."

Remus took the pillow he was leaning against and swung it at James, knocking the other boy over onto Peter, who pushed James off him and onto the floor. Chances were another hexing session would have ensued had Sirius not spoken up from his spot on the bed where he had been thinking, not paying any attention to the others.

"You need to write him Remus," Sirius said firmly. "Express your gratitude for the honor of being named family and your acceptance to all it entails."

Remus nodded thoughtfully, already composing the letter in his head. Sirius got parchment and a quill and inkbottle for him and looked over his shoulder as he wrote, making recommendations every few sentences. Apparently Sirius had learned quite a bit that summer. He almost always acted like an idiot but was eloquent and every bit a distinguished heir to a pureblood family when he wanted.

"I've got the letter to Cyclops!" James announced and waved a piece of parchment.

"Why?" Peter asked.

Sirius smiled and ruffled Peter's hair, "Zeus doesn't know Joseph, and no one knows where a vampire lives. Zeus will deliver the letter to Cyclops, and Cyclops will deliver it to Joseph."

Remus smiled and shook his head. He contemplated telling his father about his new friend, but decided against it. He already had so many secrets that he kept that one more probably wouldn't matter, and his father would probably get into an overprotective panic about it.

A return letter arrived at lunch on Christmas Eve, and Remus wondered just how close the Gudgeons lived. He tucked it away and waited to read it until all the Marauders were gathered in the gold room later that day.

_Remus,_

_I was pleased to receive your letter. To answer your question, your pack has nothing to fear from me. They must be truly special boys to earn the honor you bestowed upon them._

_Someday we will talk at length, and I will answer all the questions that must be racing through your rather impressive mind. If you ever need me I will be there for you. Davey will always be able to get in touch with me, or his parents in his absence._

_Yours,_

_Joseph_

"Whoa," Sirius commented and passed the letter to James. "This is beyond cool."

"Too bad you didn't save Cyclops before we had to do that essay on vampires," James said with mock regret.

Remus threw a pillow at him, "He wasn't even a student yet! That essay was in our second year!"

"Yeah," James conceded with a grin as he caught the pillow, "but imagine how much cooler it would've been if we could have had first hand information. I bet Cyclops gets the best grade ever when he writes that one."

"Nah," Peter commented and they all looked at him curiously. "How could his grade possibly better than the walking encyclopedia over here?"

Sirius and James burst out laughing and Sirius ruffled Remus's hair, "Moony the walking encyclopedia. Quick Moony, what's the incantation for organizing your underwear drawer by color?"

"You're going down Siri," Remus growled, though he couldn't prevent the grin from forming as he tackled the blue eyed, dark haired Gryffindor.

Together they tumbled off the bed and landed on the floor with a loud thump. James gave a war cry and joined them, dragging Peter along with him. They were a tangle of limbs when the door opened.

"What in the name of Merlin is going on in here?" Viviane Potter stuck her head in the room.

James grinned and tried to extricate himself from under his three friends, but only managed to fall and get a mouthful of someone's jumper. All four of them looked at his mother with their best innocent expressions.

"Hi Mum!"

Viviane's eyes narrowed just a bit, but she looked to be fighting a smile, "Don't you 'Hi Mum' me young man. Dinner is in ten minutes and I want all four of you presentable."

"Yes Mum," and "Yes Viviane," was chorused in four voices, all with innocent smiles still pasted on their faces.

That Christmas was unlike any other Remus had ever experienced. As was usual it was the one morning of the year when all four Marauders woke with the sun. Of course, as it was just after the Winter Solstice the sunrise was not very early, but it was still an accomplishment for fourteen-year-old boys.

The great room of Potter Manor was brightly decorated. There were garlands of greens, bunches of holly, mistletoe, fairy lights, and a Christmas tree to rival the ones at Hogwarts. Candles were enchanted to float like the ones in the great hall at Hogwarts and there was a wireless set tuned to play Christmas songs. A fire was crackling merrily, and there were actual chestnuts roasting over it.

Simeon Lupin and the Pettigrews arrived by Floo that morning to join in on the present opening and the full day's festivities. The Marauders and the Potters had each opened one gift the night before, as was tradition in the Potter family, and the boys all had their stockings waiting for them when they woke so they didn't wake the adults too early. As soon as the stockings were fully rifled through the house elves brought breakfast for the four boys on the floor of the great room.

To the great surprise of both Lupins and Sirius there were several packages for them from both the Potters and the Pettigrews. The Gudgeons had also sent a gift to each of the Marauders and Remus had to suffer through the reenactment of the Whomping Willow Incident that Sirius and James insisted on, starring Peter as Cyclops and James as Remus, with Sirius as narrator.

"I can see why the hat put you in Gryffindor," Simeon Lupin put an arm around his mortally embarrassed son. "I'm proud of you Remus."

"Thanks Dad," Remus managed as there was flash of light. Viviane Potter smiled at them and held up her camera, promising to copy the picture for both of them.

The Christmas dinner was amazing, even better than the Christmas or Halloween Feast at Hogwarts. There were crackers at each place, and Clive snuck each of the Marauders a goblet of the mulled wine, declaring it his responsibility as James's uncle to thoroughly corrupt them.

For the days following Christmas the Marauders were in high spirits. They sent off thank-you notes to everyone not at the Manor who had sent them gifts, made easier by making the notes from all four of them wherever possible. Clive, Aaron, and even Viviane joined them in games of Exploding Snap, Gobstones, Chess, and Clive taught them how to play Poker.

New Years Eve was more formal, with a party that had over sixty witches and wizards in the great room. They had to wear their formal robes and were warned to be on their best behavior. Viviane checked them over for the slightest hint of any prank materials before letting them down the stairs, having already scanned the great room with the knowledge that only the mother of James Potter and wife of Aaron Potter could possibly possess.

Remus had never been to a party as fancy as that New Years Eve Ball. Headmaster Dumbledore and several professors were present for a portion of the evening. The Minister of Magic was there, as well as several Department Heads and the majority of the Aurors that were not on duty. Remus was introduced to more dignitaries and diplomats than he had ever expected to meet. He did his best to be unassuming, aided by the exuberance of Sirius and James.

It was past two in the morning when the boys flopped onto the bed in the red room. Despite the detailed plans and admirable effort of both James and Sirius, the only alcohol the four of them managed to get their hands on that night was the champagne toast at midnight.

"My mother must have eyes in the back of her head!" James complained.

Remus laughed, "No, she just has house elves at her command."

"Yeah man," Sirius said tiredly, his mouth stretched into a lazy grin, "house elves will get you every time."

There was a quiet knock on the door and it opened a crack before Clive Potter peeked in, "You four alone?"

"Yeah," James nodded, his third or fourth wind coming to him, and sat up quickly.

Clive Potter slipped around the door and held up his hand, which had two bottles of Ogden's Firewhiskey, "I thought you boys deserved something for all your effort tonight."

James leapt off the bed and hugged his uncle tightly, "You are the best Uncle Clive!"

"I know," Clive grinned, that same grin that James and Aaron had, as Sirius liberated him of the alcohol. He adopted an exaggerated stern expression and waved his finger at them, "Now don't go drinking it all at once."

Chuckling softly, Clive stole out of the room and Remus felt the tingle of wards being cast on the room. It seemed that James's uncle had decided to make sure they weren't discovered in their illegal pursuits.

James produced four cups and Sirius uncapped the first bottle. Four generous amounts of whiskey were poured and Remus raised his eyebrows. Sirius had given them each far more than a shot. James passed around the cups and they all raised them in the air.

"The Marauders," Sirius said as a toast.

"The Marauders!" the other three echoed.

Four cups tipped back and Peter spluttered, half of what he drank returning to his cup with a little spill onto the floor. Sirius and James were both coughing and fanning their mouths. Firewhiskey was appropriately named.

Remus just smiled. The burning sensation was nothing to him, seeing as his bones and joints broke apart every month and reassembled themselves. His eyes showed his internal laughter at his friends. James scowled at him.

"I am a werewolf," Remus lifted a single eyebrow.

Sirius grinned again, "Oh yeah mighty werewolf? You can take the fire but lets see how well you hold your liquor!"

"Fine," Remus replied, a little full moon daring still leftover. He downed the rest of the whiskey in his cup, which he estimated to be about five shots, and held it out for a refill. James and Sirius both grinned and Peter looked fearful. He took possession of the bottle, hiding the other in Remus's trunk, and assumed the role of bartender for the remainder of the evening.

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	25. 24: Exposure

**Chapter Twenty Four: Exposure**

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"It's not fair," Sirius grumped and held the cold damp cloth to his forehead.

The four of them camped out in Remus's room for the day, claiming that after the long night, which had been proceeded by several other long nights, all they wanted to do was sleep. Viviane had given them a suspicious look but left them alone. After all, she had made sure they didn't get any alcohol at the party.

Remus smirked, "Yet another benefit to my condition."

"We'll get you drunk somehow Remus Lupin," James did his best to both block the light from his eyes and give Remus a threatening look.

"Um, he drank twice what you two did," Peter pointed out, "and you couldn't remember your own name."

"Whereas I am completely sober," Remus said proudly.

Sirius sat up and tried to say something that was sure to be scathing, but then he clutched his mouth with his hand and dashed for the bathroom. He had been throwing up all day, not even keeping water down. It had gotten less frequent as time passed though.

"Stop using big words," James complained and gave up on block the sun. He closed his eyes and buried his face in a pillow. His next words were muffled, "My head hurts."

"Next time you might not want to try out-drinking a werewolf," Remus whispered in his ear.

James just waved a hand around in a halfhearted attempt to hit Remus which was dodged with minimal effort.

"Will you help me with my Charms essay?" Peter asked Remus.

Remus laughed and joined his friend at the desk in the room. Sirius stumbled back from the bathroom and collapsed on the bed next to James, who groaned as the mattress moved.

"Summoning Charms are a very specific class of spell," Remus started his lecture from memory, repeated what Flitwick had told them in class. He stopped to answer Peter's questions along the way and helped his friend figure out the essay assigned over the holiday.

The return to Hogwarts was perfectly timed in Remus's opinion. The break lasted just long enough for James and Sirius to complete their homework and start to drive Viviane crazy with pranks. Peter managed to get all his work done, and Remus took the Floo to Lupin Cottage for a few days to spend some time with his dad before going back to school.

His father seemed a little anxious, but tried his best to hide it from Remus. It was a futile attempt with the heightened werewolf senses on Remus's side. He could smell the nervous tension in the cottage, but attributed it to the work his father enlisted his help in.

Remus's earlier suspicions on the spells his father was working on were confirmed. It was a new ward of some sort, something meant to be completely unbreakable. Nothing even remotely like it existed, and so there was very little to base the work on. Remus helped with a number of calculations.

He was surprised when his father gave him a tight hug before he left.

The spring term was mostly uneventful. Death Eater attacks were less frequent for some reason unknown to the students of Hogwarts, or most of them anyway. The Marauders had their suspicions about some of the Slytherins. With the way Malfoy and some of his friends acted he either was already a Death Eater or would be one as soon as he graduated. Sirius knew his cousin Bellatrix was destined to join the Death Eaters as well. With her attitude and general insanity it was inevitable. The meant the Lestrange brothers were almost certainly joining as well.

Cyclops, as James and Sirius refused to even acknowledge any other name where Davey Gudgeon was concerned, was the envy of his classmates. He was allowed in the Marauders' room, got to help them with pranks, and they all helped him with homework. In a ridiculous ceremony, which James and Sirius made up as they went along, Cyclops was inducted as a Junior Marauder and sworn to secrecy regarding anything concerning the Marauders.

He was not let in on all their secrets though.

Davey didn't know about the Marauders Map. Remus had figured out how to have the Map insult anyone who didn't use the password, and he almost had it worked out how to imprint the personalities of the Marauders into the insults. The charm for identifying people within the castle was a complete success and made late night mischief infinitely easier.

He wasn't sure why that spell worked. All of Remus's research told him that such a charm would be impossible within Hogwarts. The wards of the school would prevent anyone other than the headmaster from making something like the Map. After all, if Death Eaters got a hold of it and figured out how to work it, that could be disastrous.

Maybe that was just what the Board of Governors and the headmaster wanted people to think. If it was supposed to be impossible, why would anyone try it? Remus still didn't know why he had bothered, but it had worked. There had just been something that told him he could do the spell, despite all evidence to the contrary.

"It's amazing," Sirius held the Map as if it was made of the most delicate material imaginable and would break at any moment.

James was staring at Remus in awe as Sirius and Peter watched the small labeled dots moving around the Map, "How did you do it?"

Remus shrugged, "I'm not really positive how it worked. The spell would definitely work at the Manor, or my dad's house, but the wards here should have prevented it."

"We have to be really careful with this," Peter wasn't touching the Map. He had his hands stuffed into his pockets like he was afraid to touch anything.

The others all nodded and Sirius touched the Map with his wand, "Mischief Managed. This goes way beyond pranks. If the teachers found out what this map does..."

"They'd let Moony skip his O.W.L.s and take his N.E.W.T.s next year instead," James smiled at the blushing werewolf. "Look... Moony said it himself, it should have been impossible. If the teachers find out they can't get mad at him for trying. There aren't any rules against having something like the Map."

"There aren't?" Peter questioned.

James looked offended and shook his head, "Of course not. I checked."

"You did?" Remus looked at his friend curiously. James had almost no use for rules and was never reluctant to break them.

"Hell yeah," James insisted. "If there was a rule against it we could all have gotten expelled. I don't mind sneaking out or pranking the whole school but if I want to be an Auror I have to finish school."

Sirius laughed, "And your mother's reaction to you getting expelled has nothing at all to do with this."

A tinge of pink appeared on James's face, "And you wouldn't be worried about your parents' reactions?"

"That's entirely different," Sirius scowled but didn't elaborate. The mood in the room shifted to very uncomfortable, as it tended to whenever they ventured into the subject of Sirius's family.

Remus gathered his books together and loaded up his bag, "I promised Lily we would work on Arithmancy in the library today. She usually works with Frank and Alice but they get a bit distracted."

James snickered and Sirius's scowl faded. Peter heaved a sigh of relief. He hated when things got tense between the Marauders, always afraid that if an argument broke out he'd be asked to take a side. Remus left the room and Sirius joined in on the snickers. He saw that James watched Remus leave with what could only be outright jealousy, but Sirius ignored it and tackled James, tickling him. The cure all for any Marauder was jokes and laughter, and Sirius was determined.

In the library Remus spread out his work on a table near the Arithmancy section. Lily was scheduled to meet him in fifteen minutes, but Remus was compulsively early whenever he could be. Sirius, James, and Peter had a tendency to make him only barely on time whenever they were with him, so he made up for it when he was meeting someone on his own.

"Remus!" Lily sounded thankful to see him. "Your roommates are insane I tell you. They got that poor kid Davey to let them transform him into a squirrel and then they released him in the common room! The transfiguration only lasted for ten minutes and he changed back when he was perched on Bea's shoulder. She chased them up to your room and they locked her out. When I left she was banging on the door and yelling at them to come out and act their age."

Remus couldn't help it. He had to laugh at the image of a squirrel Cyclops changing back to a human Cyclops on Bea's shoulder.

"Give them a break Lily," Remus was still chuckling. "Did anyone get hurt?"

"No," Lily grumped.

"Was Cyclops upset?"

"No. He was laughing like an idiot with the rest of them."

"Then there was no harm done." Remus saw that her mouth was twitching, but she stubbornly refused to be amused at the prank. He sighed and wondered for perhaps the hundredth time if she liked James as much as he liked her but wouldn't even admit it to herself. The other girls laughed at the Marauders' pranks when they weren't the victims, but Lily never did. Whenever James was near her he would mess up his hair even more than usual, or do something silly to get her attention, and she would only scold him for being immature.

Lily frowned, "They set a bad example for the younger students, especially Davey! And it doesn't help that Potter sneaks out all the time too."

"Lily," Remus said in as serious a tone as he had. He was going to ignore the mention of James and his nocturnal habits, "Cyclops almost died earlier this year, and then he the most depressed twelve-year-old I've ever seen. If Sirius and James can make him laugh and act like a kid, like he should be, what's so wrong with that?"

"Nothing I suppose," Lily finally submitted. Her brow furrowed, "Do you mean to tell me that all those pranks at the end of term were to get Davey to laugh?"

"Most of them," Remus grinned, remembering some of the more spectacular moments. Snape would never look at a treacle tart the same way again. "They would have settled for him cracking a smile even. It took us almost a month to get him laughing again."

Lily finally smiled. Remus knew that she had a soft spot for the younger Gryffindors. She frequently helped them with homework and was always there to give directions to lost first years.

"So, I know why they call him Cyclops, but why do they call you Moony?" Lily questioned lightly. She was spreading out her own work and didn't look up to see the frozen expression of fear that was on Remus's face for just a few seconds. He looked at her papers and saw that she put her full name on all of them, Lily Elizabeth Evans.

Remus schooled his face to a blank look when her head lifted, "I'd rather not say."

Lily smiled sadly and put one of her hands on his. She was talking softly enough that there wasn't a chance anyone would overhear them, "Is it because you're a werewolf?"

"Why... why would you think that?" Remus felt his heartbeat quicken and he desperately wanted to pull his hand out from under hers and run. He needed his pack. He needed to be reassured that they were there for him.

"The signs were all there Remus, but I didn't figure it out until you saved Davey," Lily's bright green eyes looked compassionate and sparkled with unshed tears. "No one else could have done it, not like you did." Her hand tightened on his and then she let go, "I've been having some trouble with these problems Bones gave us yesterday."

Remus blinked at her, his mind still trying to catch up with what was happening, "You mean... you don't have a problem with it? You don't think I'm dangerous?"

"You leave for the full moon," Lily stated firmly. "Besides, I've known you for four years. Potter and Black are a far greater risk to my safety and sanity than you are."

"Thank you," Remus was the one holding back tears then. He looked at her parchment and immediately saw what she was doing wrong, "Here's your problem Lee. You've got these steps switched around."

"Lee?" Lily grinned at him.

"Yeah," Remus blushed. He hadn't realized he had said it out loud. "Your initials, they spell out Lee. I thought it suited you."

Her smile grew, "I like it... Moony." She took out a fresh sheet of parchment and dipped her quill in her inkwell, "So, how is this equation supposed to go?"

"It's pretty simple," Remus explained, and laughed at her disbelieving look. "You just have to get used to thinking this way. These equations are the basis for everything we'll be doing next year. Up 'till now we've been learning the basics and getting ready for what Arithmancy is really all about. Next year we start picking apart spells and seeing how they're constructed to begin with. It's amazing what goes into figuring out that you swish and flick with _wingardium leviosa_ instead of flick and swish."

Lily's eyes were round, "You're really passionate about this."

"My dad's a Master. I didn't have many friends, and it was just me and my dad for so long, so I started reading his books as soon as I could read. I think I understood numbers before letters," explained Remus.

"I could see that," Lily smiled and nodded.

They returned to the work and Remus helped her through the first two equations. Once she saw where she had been mixing up her steps she had no trouble with the rest of the assignment. Remus finished his quickly – he had known how to do that work years before – and he went back to the wards his father was trying to develop.

"I've never even seen symbols like that!" Lily commented after she rolled up her parchment. She leaned across the table to look at his work.

"It's something I was helping my father with," Remus told her as he tried to figure out the next step. If he knew what the final goal was it would help, but he could guess a lot just based on what he saw. "If you want to go further with Arithmancy than you can at Hogwarts you need to learn Runes. The most complex spellwork is usually runic. He's been working on this spell for at least two years."

Lily's mouth dropped open, "That's one spell?"

"Not yet," Remus massaged the bridge of his nose. "He's probably further than this, but this is where he was when we were on holiday. I have to owl this to him. I think I figured something out. He might have as well, but he could have gone a whole different direction."

"Why are you even in our class?" Lily was astonished.

Remus smiled at her, "Well I can't skip ahead. That would draw too much attention. I can't take Care of Magical Creatures, and you couldn't pay me to take Divination. Besides, I like it."

She shook her head, "You're nuts. Let's get back to the Tower before the idiots cause some real damage."

Remus laughed and collected his things. He rolled up the sheet of figures and diagrams he had been working on and addressed it to his dad. James could send it with Zeus and it would get to him faster than using muggle post.

Entering Gryffindor Tower on a rainy Saturday afternoon was always a risk. There was always the chance that the Marauders were up to something, and the Gryffindors had grown accustomed to having their wands ready when they walked through the portrait. Remus could hear the chaos before they even gave the password and Lily immediately got her wand out when she saw him pull out his. They stepped into the common room cautiously and Remus almost fell over laughing.

The Gryffindor common room looked like, well, he wasn't exactly sure what it resembled but it was certainly entertaining. There were fireworks going off, banners twirling around and squeaking out so many sayings that no particular one could be deciphered, and the furniture had all changed to a variety of bright colors. On top of that, everyone's hair was a different bright color and half the room was doing their best to reverse the chaos while the others couldn't stop laughing.

Lily took the side of stopping the chaos and managed to freeze several banners. James, Sirius, and Peter were nowhere to be seen, and Cyclops was missing as well. Remus guessed that they had been chased out of the room long before he got back from the library.

Connor, a seventh year prefect, stormed over to Remus when he saw them, "What on earth possesses you four to do these things?"

The older boy looked frazzled. His N.E.W.T.s were approaching, he was on the quidditch team, and he had to deal with trying to restrain the Marauders.

Despite all that Remus couldn't stop laughing, "I was... in the library... with Lily... Arithmancy..."

"Get them down here to put a stop to all this!" Connors ordered.

Remus decided not to give the stressed prefect any further reason to punish his friends and went up to their room. He banged on the door, "Let me in guys."

"Moony!" The door opened only long enough for Sirius to grab Remus and pull him into the room. "Is it brilliant down there, or is it brilliant?"

"Brilliant would be an accurate description," Remus snickered and saw that his fellow Marauders, and one Junior Marauder, had not spared themselves. James's hair was bright purple, Sirius's was glowing orange, Peter's was blue, and Cyclops had a fiery red. "How long until everyone's hair is back to normal?"

James looked at his watch, "It will all stop in 10 seconds... ... ... 5... 4... 3... 2... now!"

There was a bright flash and their hair reverted to its usual colors. There was silence from the common room and Remus guessed that the banners and fireworks had disappeared and the hair and furniture was back to how it was before the prank.

"I see you managed to entertain yourselves without me," Remus grinned, glad he didn't have to drag his friends back down to the common room to face the firing squad... or rather, the prefects.

"But we missed you Moony!" James rubbed Remus's head with his knuckles.

"Quit it!" Remus pushed James away.

"Aw, you know you love me!"

James tried to hug Remus, but Remus grabbed Sirius and put him between them. It was the start of an all-out Marauder war again and Cyclops learned what it was really like to be a Marauder. The five of them proceeded to demolish the room, ending it collapsed on Remus's bed in a pile of hexed limbs.

"Hey James?"

"Yeah Remy?"

"Could you send an owl for me?"

"Sure," James was grinning. His legs were all twisted up with someone else's, both of them having been hit with jelly-legs. "I'll just roll to the owlery..."

A pillow hit James's face, but there was almost no effort behind it.

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	26. 25: War is Declared

**Chapter Twenty-Five: War is Declared**

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"Oh no," the Gryffindor table heard on the morning of the last Hogsmeade weekend of the year. "I can't believe it!"

"What is it Lee?" Remus leaned over towards the girls. His friends all looked at him questioningly, and at least one girl giggled. He rolled his eyes. It was just a nickname.

"My sister is getting married!" Lily grimaced.

"Um... that's nice," Peter said hopefully, "isn't it?"

Lily snorted, "I'll be glad to see her go, but I have to go to the wedding!"

"Did your mum make her put you in the wedding party?" Yvonne asked.

"No thank Merlin," Lily shook her head. "I just have to go as a guest."

"Do you get to bring a date?" James smiled mischievously.

Lily scowled, "For the last time James Potter, I will not go on a date with you!"

There were snickers all around them and James pouted, mashing his eggs with his fork, "I was just thinking that if you brought someone with you it wouldn't be as bad."

"Whoever it was would have to be fine being surrounded by the most mugglish muggles," Lily snorted. "My sister has been just awful ever since I got my letter."

Lily's roommates seemed to sympathize with her. They must have heard her complaints about her sister often. Bea smiled, "I think you should bring Remus."

"What?" Remus looked up from his food.

Yvonne nodded in agreement, "Definitely Remus. He won't make a fool out of himself, unlike some others," Sirius and James grinned proudly, "and he could be really intimidating if he tried."

Remus raised his eyebrows. He knew he could be intimidating if he let the wolf out, but he would never do that to innocent muggles. Lily's sister might be horrible, but her wedding was no place to do something about that.

"Please Moony," Lily pleaded. "Save me from the ultimate boredom and annoyance that is my sister?"

"Not you too Lily!" Bea exclaimed. "He has a perfectly fine name."

Remus just laughed, "Fine Lee."

Lily hugged him and then jumped up from her seat, "I've got to owl Mum and make sure I get to bring someone. Thank you!"

The Marauders headed towards Hogsmeade when they were finished eating, making sure to sign out with Filch on their way out the gates. James was in a foul mood all morning and not even Zonko's and Honeydukes were enough to cheer him up. They went to the Three Broomsticks for lunch and James frowned at his butterbeer while Sirius flirted with Rosmerta like usual.

"I don't have to go James," Remus ventured, guessing why James was in a funk.

James sighed, "She'd never invite me so I don't see why you shouldn't go."

"It's not a real date James," Remus scooted closer to his friend and spoke quietly. "Even if I liked Lily like that, which I don't, you know I couldn't risk that."

"But does she see it that way?" James put his finger in the mouth of his empty bottle and twirled it around. "You two spend a lot of time together, and she's not seeing anyone."

"She knows James," Remus admitted. James's head snapped up and he looked like he was afraid for Remus. Remus put an arm around his shoulder, "Don't worry about it. She guessed a while ago and said something to me a few weeks ago. She's fine with it."

"Is she?" James was angry then. "Because if she says anything..."

"She won't," Remus interrupted. "She's muggleborn James. She knows how to keep a secret. She has to keep a huge one every summer when she goes home."

"I never really thought about that," James admitted. He was still looking down, "Still, I don't really have a chance, do I?"

"Well..." Remus knew he was approaching delicate territory.

"Yeah?" James looked hopeful.

"If you stopped acting like an idiot whenever you see her, and stopped sleeping with everyone who smiles at you..."

James turned away from Remus and started talking to Sirius. Remus drank his butterbeer and sighed. He never passed judgment on his friend's nighttime activities, as it wasn't his place, but pretty much all of Gryffindor knew that James Potter had a new 'friend' every other week. Most students dated someone, took them to Hogsmeade, studied with them, and spent a little time in broom closets and old classrooms, but James never had an actual girlfriend or boyfriend.

Remus wasn't going to let something build on this. He didn't want James ignoring him all week because of one comment. He put his hand on James's arm and leaned towards him, "I personally don't care how many people you sleep with, what gender they are, or whether they're pureblood, muggleborn, or vampires. I'm just telling you that Lily will never go out with you if she thinks you're going to leave the Tower every other night to meet someone in the Astronomy Tower."

"I'd never do that to her!" James protested, a hurt look on his face.

Remus smiled and spoke at a normal volume again, "I know that. Siri and Peter know that." Peter shifted uncomfortably and wouldn't look at them. "But Lily doesn't know that James. If you really want to be with her you have to prove it to her."

James still looked like the world was ending momentarily. Sirius grinned and tried to cheer him up, "Hey mate, if she doesn't like you for who you are then she's not worth it!"

Remus grimaced. Sirius meant well but that was the wrong thing to say. The only people in Gryffindor that didn't know James was head over heels in love with Lily Evans were James and Lily. Well... James might know but he denied it vociferously.

James glared across the table, "She's Lily."

He went back to frowning at his food and Rosmerta came over to their table, "I haven't ever seen you like this Jamesie." She ruffled his hair, set down their next round of butterbeers, and put four shot glasses on the table, hidden by the bottles. She winked at them, "Cheer up there Potter."

Peter's jaw dropped and Remus started laughing. Sirius grinned, and James finally smiled, "If we knew that all I had to do to get some whiskey is look pathetic we could have tried that months ago!"

"Cheers!" Sirius looked around for anyone watching them and tossed back his shot. The other Marauders echoed him, and their glasses disappeared when they hit the table. They chased back the whiskey with some butterbeer.

"That's a good combination," Remus licked his lips. "We've got to bring some butterbeer back to our room."

"Remus!" Sirius looked shocked. "Are you suggesting we consume illegal beverages within the walls of Hogwarts?"

James laughed and tried to look horrified, but the laughter ruined it, "You'll never make prefect this way Moony."

All four of them laughed and Remus rolled his eyes, "Please. Do you think McGonagall would pick one of you? I have the least accumulated detentions of all four of us."

"Does he?" Sirius stroked a fake beard in thought.

Peter nodded, "I checked the tally sheet this morning. Remus is five behind me, and you two are tied six ahead of me."

James gave Sirius a devilish look, "This means war!"

He tossed a handful of Galleons onto the table and raced out of the pub, Sirius on his heels. Remus banged his head on the table and looked up at Peter, "Did you have to get them started?"

Peter chuckled, "It'll be fun to watch."

Remus sighed, "Let's head back. I have a feeling we'll be needed for damage control."

When they made it back to their room James and Sirius were already facing off, coming up with elaborate ways to get in trouble and daring each other to try all sorts of ridiculous things.

"So much for growing up to impress Lily," Peter whispered in Remus's ear.

Remus shrugged, "At least we tried."

"Remy!" Sirius whined. "We need your brain!"

Peter laughed and flopped onto Sirius's bed. Remus took out fresh parchment and a quill and joined James on his bed. James and Sirius began spouting off all their new prank ideas, sure to enrage the staff to the point of assigning multiple detentions, and Remus jotted them all down, instantly shooting down a few that were impossible or not worthy of their time. They spent the rest of the afternoon planning, and had at least four good pranks ready to go by the time dinner rolled around.

It seemed that neither James nor Sirius was interested in becoming a prefect. They spent the remaining month of the term in a competition to see who could amass the most detentions. There were a few nights when James persuaded his partner of the evening to meet him in spots where they were almost guaranteed to get caught. James claimed that it added a little thrill, but the Marauders all knew it was part of the detention war.

They both hexed Snape right in front of their professors, showing no remorse whatsoever when they were lectured for their actions. It was somewhat better than hexing Snape when no professors were around, because that risked a confrontation with Malfoy, which they were all eager to avoid. If Remus was alone he did his best to avoid the Slytherin prefect, though he could often feel eyes watching him. He couldn't wait until the next year when Malfoy would be gone.

Together the Marauders all snuck into McGonagall's classroom late one night and transfigured her desk into an elaborate scratching post and her chair into an animated squeaking rubber mouse. They put out a saucer of milk, charmed to stay fresh, that they got from their friends the house elves in the kitchen. McGonagall glared at them for days, but she had no proof that the prank was their work and so she couldn't punish them for it.

Somehow Gryffindor managed to stay in the running for the house cup despite the spectacular point losses that accompanied the detention seekers. It may have been because Remus and Peter were working extra hard to avoid trouble in hopes to make up for their roommates, or it may have been that James and Sirius were answering every question they could in classes and gaining back most of the points they lost.

Whatever it was, when the points Remus earned for the 'Whomping Willow Incident' and the Gryffindor win of the Quidditch Cup were taken into consideration, Gryffindor just barely managed to win the House Cup that year.

At the leaving feast James and Sirius were just as astonished as the rest of the school at their victory. When the Marauders walked into the hall and saw the Gryffindor banners hanging all over the hall the two of them stopped in their tracks and stared. They started tallying points in their heads and pointing at each other...

"But you..."

"...and you..."

"We must have lost..."

"...there were dozens of..."

The Gryffindor table was rowdy in their celebrations and everyone who had been irritated with James and Sirius for their reckless behavior forgave them and laughed at their dumbstruck faces. The two of them recovered quickly and sat down with grins, ready to set off the final prank of the year.

"This is going to be brilliant," Sirius rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

James shook his head, "I don't know how we'll top it."

The full moon was just past and Remus was still feeling reckless. He felt his eyes almost glowing in eagerness for the prank. It really was one of their better ideas, and it was nearly impossible to pull off. They just had to wait for the perfect moment.

In the early hours of the morning they had snuck down to the great hall to set up their prank. They had cast a series of charms on each house table, including Gryffindor, and when the students began to eat they activated the prank.

"Ahhh!"

"Watch it there!"

"Don't poke me with that!"

Students were jumping back from their tables, and there were even some short screams. Whenever someone tried to use a fork on their food it would protest vehemently. The only safe way to eat was with knives and spoons.

It took at least five minutes before the first student figured out that only their fork got that reaction from the food. Some of the upper year students transfigured their forks into second knives to make eating a little easier, especially when it came to the steak.

James looked up at the staff table and saw Dumbledore gazing down at him with his bushy eyebrows raised. James just grinned and went back to eating. He continued to use his fork despite the exclamations from his food, as did several other students who were amused with the prank.

"Another year gone," Sirius sighed as he removed The Marauder Code of Conduct from the wall. There were quiddicth posters to take down, as well as scores of photographs of the various pranks played throughout the year, all of which had copies in the Marauder Journal.

Remus was neatly folding his robes and placing them on top of his books and other belongings, "O.W.L.s next year."

"Did you have to remind me?" James groaned and threw a wadded up shirt at Remus.

He caught it before it hit him and threw it back, "If you don't do well on your O.W.L.s you can't get the N.E.W.T. classes you want, which means you can't take the N.E.W.T.s you need to become an Auror. If you're really serious about it you would start revising this summer."

James gaped at Remus and Peter started to look very nervous, "I'll do just fine on my tests. I always do."

Remus just smiled and went back to packing. James and Sirius were almost too smart for their own good. They coasted through their classes, almost never studied, and came out with top grades. Remus doubted he would be in the same situation if he hadn't been reading his father's textbooks all those years.

"Do you r-really think they'll be that hard?" Peter questioned as he tossed a few books onto his clothing in his trunk.

Remus cringed at the carelessness of his packing but nodded, "For over a week all we'll do is study and take exams. Your whole future rests on your performance on those exams."

Peter paled and Remus felt a pang of guilt. The tests were very serious, and should be approached as such, but he was a little bitter that his own grades wouldn't really matter in the long run. No matter how well he did on his O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s what it would come down to is his lycanthropy. No one would hire him because he's a werewolf. He wasn't legally allowed to become an apprentice.

"You'll do fine Petey," James clapped the smallest Marauder on the back.

"Sorry," Remus smiled sheepishly. "I just wish I could do something interesting after we graduate, and I'll be stuck working at a pub or something like that."

"It won't be that bad," James insisted. "I'm sure there's someone out there who won't care what you are. We don't care."

Remus sighed and Sirius gave him a sympathetic look. James was the optimist among them. Peter was rather pessimistic at times, and Remus and Sirius had a realistic view of the world based strongly on personal experience.

"Thanks mate," Remus said with a smile that never left his face. It wouldn't make a difference to anyone if he tried to convince James of the harsh reality that faced Remus when he left Hogwarts. He had seven years of relative peace and anonymity, and after that he was on his own.

The train ride home stretched out into an eternity like it always did. Sirius got more and more dark and restless, preparing himself to face his family once more. He worked on his 'perfect Black son' mask while Peter and James played chess.

Remus stared out the window at the passing landscape with a slight tightness in his chest that he couldn't explain. Something was off but he couldn't figure it out. Nothing smelled off, the smells around him were normal, and he couldn't hear anything out of place. Whatever it was, it was instinct. The wolf knew that something was off and was letting Remus know.

They pulled into King's Cross after agonizing hour after hour. James and Peter didn't bother trying to engage Remus in their games. They could tell that the alpha wolf was irritated, even if they had no idea what the cause was.

The Hogwarts students disembarked and headed towards their parents. In the sea of bodies Remus could normally pick out his father almost instantly. There was a pull that brought Remus to his father, the only one who cared about the wolf for so many years.

Simeon Lupin wasn't there.

Remus didn't panic. His father had been unable to pick him up before and sent a message through the Potters. He found James quickly and went with him towards Aaron. Before father and son could greet each other Remus spoke up.

"Did my father talk to you this morning at all?" Remus asked insistently.

Aaron shook his head, "I spoke with Simeon a few days ago, but I haven't heard from him since then. What's wrong Remus?"

"He's not here," Remus stated plainly. "He's never late."

"Are you sure?" Aaron gave him a suspicious look. Remus wasn't surprised. There were still a lot of people there and Simeon Lupin didn't stick out in a crowd like a Weasley would with their flame red hair.

"Yes," Remus nodded, "I'm sure." He wasn't about to explain further, especially there, but his father's scent wasn't anywhere nearby.

James looked worried, as he knew very well why Remus was sure of himself. He also remembered the anxiousness from the train. Remus wasn't a seer, but the wolf sometimes just sensed things, like it knew that the first and second years hadn't just been fooling around that day. The wolf had known that Cyclops was in trouble.

Aaron whistled and waved for the Pettigrews, "Take James with you and send him home through the Floo, okay?"

Peter's parents agreed and Aaron turned to Remus, "Have you ever joint apparated before?" Remus shook his head. "It's a little uncomfortable, but it's that fastest way to get you home. I don't know why..." Aaron sighed and shrunk Remus's trunk, stowing it in his pocket, and then put his hands on Remus's shoulders. "Just relax Remus, and let me guide you."

Remus nodded and forced the wolf to subside. There was a loud _crack_ and the station disappeared just as Remus closed his eyes.

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Please Review!

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	27. 26: The Dark Mark

**Chapter Twenty-Six: The Dark Mark**

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Tandem apparition was something Remus never wanted to experience ever again. It was not nearly as bad as his transformation, nothing even came close, but it left him feeling dizzy and queasy. He felt Aaron Potter stiffen beside him and he opened his eyes. Over his house a glowing green skull with a snake protruding from its mouth hovered in the air, the Dark Mark.

"Dad!" Remus pulled out his wand before thinking and ran towards the house. Aaron didn't have a chance at holding him back.

Remus was frantic. He let his senses expand to his full awareness and he could almost taste the dark magic that had been used there. He sniffed the air. There had been several wizards at the house but the scent was at least ten hours old. Letting go of his control though meant letting the wolf out, and when the wolf was out it took some measure of control and pushed Remus back.

"Remus!" he heard Aaron yelling behind him. "It could be dangerous!" The man was running to catch up but having no luck. Remus could hear him, though no full human would have been able to, and blocked him out after a few words, "Damn that kid's fast..."

The living room was a mess. There were scorch marks on the walls and a wizard lying in a heap of bloodstained black robes on the hearth. Remus got close to him and sniffed again. The man was not his father, and had been dead for several hours. Remus stood still and concentrated, trying to separate out his father's scent from the jumble of other smells. Just as Aaron caught up Remus dashed up the stairs, taking them three at a time.

He could smell blood, familiar blood, as he approached his father's study. The door was flung open and the sight that was revealed sickened the human part of Remus. The wolf was enraged. His father had clearly been tortured before they killed him, probably for hours. The smell of blood and human waste flooded Remus's senses and he couldn't shut it out. He fought back the urge to gag at the wolf's hunger from the blood smell and stumbled to his father. He was still bound on the floor and Remus pulled the ropes apart with his bare hands, not bothering with magic.

The body was already stiff. Simeon Lupin had died long before Remus even boarded the Hogwarts Express for the ride to King's Cross. Remus clutched his father to him and let out as close to a howl as he could produce in human form. He could feel his own magic starting to grow and tingle as his anger grew at whoever had taken his father away from him.

"Remus," a voice spoke softly and tried to pry his father out of his arms.

Remus pushed the human away with as much strength as he could while using one arm, which was considerable. He vaguely registered a crash, a thump, and a curse. The fire in his father's study roared to life and Remus heard the human call for the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts. He rocked his father, keening, and hot tears ran down his face. He lost all sense of time as more than one scent entered the room, scents he knew but didn't bother to identify.

"Albus, those were magical ropes..."

"Remus," this voice he recognized. It got through. She was the one that helped him when he hurt, helped the wolf. A soft hand smoothed back his hair, wiped at his tears. "You have to let go Remus. He's gone."

"Mon Pere," Remus said softly, keening, but would not relinquish his hold. Madam Pomfrey didn't understand. "Je veux mon Pere."

"Poppy," a deep voice spoke. "You won't convince him to let go. With me on three Aaron, Poppy, Minerva."

"But Albus won't that..?"

"There is no time to argue Aaron. It is quite necessary," the voice was firm. "One... two... three... _STUPEFY!_"

Remus came to awareness more quickly than he ever had before. The first thought in his mind was of his father.

"Dad!" Remus leapt out of his bed, in his father's house, wondering briefly how he had gotten there.

Madam Pomfrey blocked his path out, "The headmaster has taken him to St. Mungo's Remus. He was gone before you got here. There was nothing you could have done."

The wolf knew this, but Remus couldn't accept it. He felt like his world was falling out from under him. He wanted to rage, and scream, and cry all at once. For the first time he longed for the release of the full moon, for the hours where his human side disappeared and he was left exhausted and in pain when it was all over. The next full moon was more than two weeks away.

"No... No... He can't be...," Remus shook his head and tried to deny the truth.

"Mr. Potter offered to put you up for the summer," Madam Pomfrey was telling him. "The Potters can help you with any legalities and plans that need to be taken care of."

"They don't know. What will I do?" Remus looked at the nurse, suddenly feeling like he was four years old again, the last time his world had been ripped apart.

"You will come to Hogwarts each month and we will act as though you are there for advanced classes," Madam Pomfrey explained. "Mr. Potter has not been informed of your condition. If you prefer, the headmaster can make some excuse for you visiting Hogwarts."

Remus felt empty. He no longer cared what happened to him. Aaron Potter could send him to Azkaban, or get him expelled, but nothing mattered anymore, "I'll tell him."

Madam Pomfrey nodded and reached out for her favorite and most frequent patient. She pulled him to her in a motherly hug. The nurse had been much more of a mother to the hurting werewolf than his own mother had.

"How long was I out?" Remus tried to get some grasp on reality as he pulled away from the hug.

Through his expressionless mask Remus could see the tears forming in Madame Pomfrey's eyes, "It's only been about fifteen minutes dear. The Aurors are investigating. I'll just Floo the Potters then and let them know you're coming through. Your things are already there."

Remus nodded and followed her downstairs past several Aurors. He ignored them all and watched the flames turn green. When Madame Pomfrey took her head out of the fire he threw in a pinch of powder and stepped into the flames,

"Potter Manor!"

Remus stepped gracefully out of the fire. He never had trouble keeping his balance, even when his mind was miles away.

"Remus!" A pair of arms wrapped around him, arms that had held him and comforted him many times before. Remus felt hollow though, and James didn't get through, "I'm so sorry about your dad. I already owled Peter and Sirius and let them know everything. You don't have to tell them."

Remus just nodded. He saw that almost the entire family was there, James and both his parents, but not Clive, "I... I have to tell you something Mr. Potter, Mrs. Potter."

James's mother hugged him, giving him a strange look for not using their given names, "Can it wait dear? I'm sure you could use some food and some sleep."

Remus shook his head, "You have to know. I should have told you years ago."

"Remus!" James exclaimed in shock. "Are you sure?"

"I don't want to lie anymore James," Remus said plainly, dully, pleading with James with his eyes to understand. "I don't have the energy to lie right now."

The Potters sat on a sofa and Remus followed their example, though he was sure that no one would be sitting in a few minutes. James sat down next to Remus and stared at his parents, as if challenging them to upset Remus further. He put a hand on Remus's back in support.

"I'm a werewolf," Remus said straight out. "I was bitten when I was four."

Viviane Potter gasped and covered her mouth in shock. Aaron Potter leapt to his feet and stood in front of the boys, "Show me your arm."

Remus rolled up both his sleeves and bared his forearms, "I don't have the Dark Mark. I will never serve that bastard."

"Dad!" James jumped up from his seat next to Remus. "He's my friend! You know him!"

Remus put a restraining hand on James's arm, "He had to ask James."

"You knew?" Viviane asked incredulously. She looked confused and somewhat frightened. Remus didn't blame her. He had been a guest in their house so many times already.

"I figured it out over two years ago," James snapped angrily at his mother. "If he'd let me help in any way I would."

"Now is not the time," Aaron Potter spoke firmly. "James, take Remus to a guest room. I think the elves put his trunk in the red room."

"Yes Dad," James nodded, still glaring at his parents. "Come on Remy. I'll have the elves bring up some food."

Remus followed James up stairs and down a long corridor to a large room decorated mostly in red. It reminded Remus of Gryffindor Tower the first time he had seen it almost three years before and that made the room seem less foreign and more comfortable. He let James direct him to the bed. The shock started to wear off and Remus realized he had dozens of questions.

"My... my dad... where..." Remus still wasn't thinking straight.

James stopped talking to a house elf and it left with a pop, "They're taking care of him at St. Mungo's. I told Mum and Dad you have no other close family and they offered to help you arrange for the memorial and to go over his will if you need it." James glared at the closed door and Remus could feel the anger pouring off his friend. James would be very powerful soon, "Of course that all depends on whether or not my dad throws you in Azkaban now. I won't let him, though. If he tries... Floo to Hogwarts. Dumbledore will protect you."

Remus followed James's words without really taking it in. Azkaban didn't really seem like a threat at that moment. James had his wand out and was pacing the floor. The fire was already lit and Remus saw that James was holding the hand without his wand closed in a fist. He probably had Floo powder at the ready, just in case. If Remus wasn't so emotionally exhausted he would have been touched. James was a good friend, ready to defy his parents for a werewolf.

There was time while they waited for the Potters for Remus to eat dinner. James wouldn't eat a thing and continued guarding the door, pacing like an anxious guard dog. Remus didn't taste any of the food he ate, and forgot what it was he ate the moment it was gone. There was no appetite but he still managed to mindlessly force a lot of food down his throat. He sat on the bed where James had directed him when they first entered the room and stared out the window at the darkening sky and emerging stars.

A knock sounded at the door and James pointed his wand at it before telling his parents to enter. Remus tried to tell James not to get in trouble for him but the words wouldn't come out. Aaron and Viviane Potter stepped in and froze in the doorway, no doubt shocked to see their son's wand aimed in their direction.

"If you try to hurt him I'll stun you where you stand," James threatened. His tone was firm and sure. Remus knew that James would follow through on his threat. "Remus is not a dark creature. That's just a bullshit Ministry classification that means nothing. He's the smartest wizard I know and he's a loyal friend. If you try to send him to Azkaban you have to go through me."

"I don't know whether to yell at James for threatening us or thank you Remus," Viviane Potter said eventually, giving her son a stern look.

Remus blinked up at her and James lowered his wand fractionally, "Mum?"

Viviane stepped past her son and sat on the bed beside Remus. She pulled him into a hug. Everyone was hugging Remus that day, "You have nothing to fear from us dear. Anyone who can knock some sense into my son's thick head is welcome here. I haven't seen James take anything except quidditch and pranks seriously before."

Remus sat stiffly in the hug. It reminded him of his mother and he did not want to think of her at that moment. He wondered if she knew... if she wanted to know... if she would even care.

"You should get some sleep Remus," Aaron Potter said. "Tomorrow's going to be a long day. We just spoke with Albus... with the headmaster and he said he would be here after breakfast."

Remus nodded vaguely and the three Potters left the room. He took off his shirt and trousers and got into the bed, but sleep was far away. His mind kept bringing up the picture of his father's study when he opened the door. Remus always knew in some deep recess of his thoughts that his father might become a target, just as any other muggle-born wizard. The shock at finding him told Remus he had never honestly considered the possibility of his father dying. Most of all he just kept seeing his father's body, feeling the cold, stiff limbs in his arms.

It was hours later when the door opened and James came into the room quietly, whispering, "You still awake?"

Remus nodded. James closed the door and the sliver of light from the corridor disappeared. The dark haired boy crossed the room and joined Remus on the bed. He curled up behind him and wrapped an arm around Remus's waist. This was much different than the hugs from Madam Pomfrey and Mrs. Potter. This was a member of his pack. That was as close as he could get to anyone, given the laws the Ministry restricted werewolves with. Remus desperately wanted Sirius and Peter just then... needed them all there with him... needed his pack.

"Orion was the son of Neptune, the Greek god of the sea," James said quietly. As James spoke his voice mutated into that of Remus's father to his ears and Remus closed his eyes tightly, feeling them well with tears. He could see the constellation... see his father's finger outline its shape for him. "Orion fell in love with Diana, sister to Apollo, and she loved him. Apollo did not approve and tricked Diana one day and she accidentally killed her love. She sent his dead body to the heavens amongst the stars with his dog Sirius.

"Cassiopeia was a queen and the mother of Andromeda, who was rescued by Perseus and later married him. Cassiopeia was overly proud of her beauty..."

Remus fell asleep to the tales of the stars with tears falling unheeded from eyes.

ooOOoo

"Eat your vegetables Regulus," Mrs. Black ordered. "I will not tell you again."

The threat was taken seriously and the youngest Black speared some broccoli with his fork, a scowl on his face as he ate his least favorite part of dinner. Regulus was expecting his Hogwarts letter that summer, and would surely be sorted into Slytherin as Sirius had failed to do. Their mother had made sure of it. Sirius would have saved his little brother if he could have, but he was not at home enough to influence him. Regulus had become the son his parents always wanted... the perfect pureblood muggle-hating Slytherin son. The Dark Mark was as good as on his arm already.

The Hogwarts Express had delivered Sirius to Kings Cross station only two hours ago and he was already depressed. Another summer of pretending to hate muggles and muggle-born wizards and witches... what did blood matter? Some of the muggle-born students he knew were far better students than some of the purebloods. There wasn't a Slytherin in the school who could beat Lily Evans in a duel. If there was nothing but purebloods left the wizarding world would die out. There just weren't enough them and those that stayed with purebloods were getting inbred. People like his cousin Bellatrix were the result.

Dinner was formal, as it always was in the Ancient and Noble House of Black. He sullenly remembered the dinners at Potter Manor, where James and his father laughed over stories of Hogwarts from twenty-five years before. He was uncomfortable in his tailored charcoal blue dress robes with a high tight collar. At Potter Manor he could be wearing jeans and a loose shirt. He could even show up at dinner barefoot. His mother would be horrified if he tried that in her house. They didn't even have guests that night.

A shriek alerted Sirius to the owl before it swooped into the dining room. He held up his arm and widened his eyes, "Zeus?"

The rest of his family was staring at him. His mother was fuming, "Why is there an owl at my dinner table?"

"This is James Potter's owl," Sirius untied the parchment quickly and gave Zeus a small piece of bread. He nipped Sirius's ear fondly and flew away.

"Sirius Black, do not feed owls off our table! Even if your friends do not have manners I expect you to display some!" Sirius looked at his mother. She was moments away from full lecture mode, which meant Sirius was moments away from spending a week locked in his room with a fat lip.

He bowed his head slightly, "Sorry Mother. It must be an emergency of some sort, as I saw James just hours ago."

"Dinner has already been disturbed. Open the letter and be done with it!"

Sirius hesitated. He had hoped to wait until he had some privacy. He had no idea what could have James writing him this quickly, and during dinner, and was sure he didn't want his mother to know. He obeyed, though, and opened the letter. Despite the acting skills he developed to survive in that house he couldn't stop the horrified expression that crossed his face. His mother snatched the letter out his hands. As he looked up a calculating expression crossed her face.

"Sirius?" Regulus asked cautiously.

"Not now Regulus," Sirius admonished his brother. The letter passed across the table to Sirius's father. Sirius watched his reaction carefully, though his father gave nothing away.

"I will contact the Ministry at once," Sirius's mother stood from the table. "The boy will need a new home. You would like that Sirius, wouldn't you?"

"Yes Mother," Sirius tried to calm his stomach, which was alternately lurching in fear and feeling leaden in guilt. There was the chance that Remus's father had become a target because of the connection Remus had to the Black family. He tried to calm himself with the knowledge that the Potters would never let Sirius's parents take Remus in, but there was a seed of doubt. Money could influence any Ministry decision.

His mother returned to the table with her scowl fixed firmly in place. Sirius restrained the smile of relief that almost gave him away. If his mother was unhappy the result could only be good for Remus.

"Auror Potter was on the scene apparently and has already offered to take the boy in. Dinner is over. Sirius, you may write your friend and offer him a place to stay here. Regulus, I want to see your work in the study in one hour," The Matron of the Black family spun angrily and swept out of the room.

Sirius's father returned his letter to him and left as well without speaking a word. Regulus rushed up to his room, most likely to put some finishing touches on whatever their mother had him studying. Sirius suspected she was starting him on the dark arts young, not taking any chances with her youngest.

Sirius climbed to his room slowly, considering just what he could write to Remus. He sat at his desk and chewed at the end of a quill. His mother would fume if she saw him, as she had been trying for years to break him of 'that disgusting habit' to no avail. He started on a letter, crumpled it, and set it aside. He stared at the blank parchment and wondered what you said to someone who just lost their father. He knew that Remus's reaction would be much different from how Sirius would react in the same situation. Sirius hardly knew his father. Of course, that would leave them alone with their mother. Sirius shuddered. Inspiration hit and Sirius began to write, praying he wasn't making a mistake.

_Madame Bonacieux,_

_You do not know me, but I am a close friend to your son Remus Lupin. We are both in Gryffindor House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and have just finished our fourth year. Please do not judge me by my last name, as I am nothing like the other members of my family you may have heard about._

_Remus does not know I am writing to you, and would most likely not approve, but I thought you deserved to know what is happening here. As James Potter and Peter Pettigrew, our other close friends, and I are the only ones who know your relation to Remus I feel it is my responsibility to inform you that Simeon Lupin was killed by Death Eaters. Remus is staying with the Potters at Potter Manor, though I am not sure if Mr. and Mrs. Potter know of Remus's lycanthropy. James, Peter, and I have known for over two years now._

_You should know that Remus is at the top of our class, along with a Gryffindor named Lily Evans and some Ravenclaws. He tutors other students and is rarely in trouble, though when he is it is usually either James's fault or mine. Our Head of House and Transfiguration Professor, Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall sees Remus as one of her favorites, along with James._

_I am worried about Remus. Without his father, there is very little to protect him from the Ministry should they learn of his condition. Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall may intervene, but I am not sure what they can do. In addition, my parents have officially offered to take him in and that would not be good._

_I apologize again for intruding on your personal affairs._

_Sincerely,_

_Sirius Constantine Black_

He folded the parchment once it dried and addressed it to Suzanne Bonacieux, Beaujeu, France. He wrote a letter to Remus, finding it much easier to express his sympathies now, and another to James that promised he would try to visit as soon as possible, asking James to keep him informed about plans for the memorial. Sirius called his owl Boudicca, and sent her off to deliver the letters, first to France and then to Potter Manor. Her watched her fly off and wished he was going with her.

There was no word from Potter Manor for several days. Sirius suspected that it was due to the time it took to deliver a letter to France, but didn't dare say anything as his mother did not know he wrote to Suzanne Bonacieux. Boudicca returned over a full week after Sirius had sent her away. She had two replies with her, from James and Remus. Sirius's mother stood over him as he read them.

"Remus thanks you for your offer Mother, but the Potters had already given him a room to stay and they are helping him make arrangements," Sirius informed his mother. She gave him a hard look, which Sirius dared not meet, and left him without a word. Sirius felt his palms begin to sweat and wiped them off on his robes before he opened James's letter.

There was a week until the memorial still. Apparently there had been some trouble with Mr. Lupin's will, and Mr. Potter and Dumbledore, along with several other members of the Hogwarts staff, had to combine forces to convince the Ministry to follow it. Sirius gathered that there was more than James could write to him and he would find out soon enough. Sirius was invited to stay at Potter Manor the nights before and after the memorial, and as long after as he wanted to, to support Remus.

He knew his mother would never let him stay more than a couple of days. There was no way he could 'study the noble dark arts' at Potter Manor. He did study some in order to pass the tests his mother gave him, but only as much as he had to.

In the time before the memorial, Sirius got as much of his homework completed as he could. He had no idea how Remus was and if his studious friend questioned him like always, he would not disappoint him. The day before he was scheduled to go to Potter Manor, he had guessed correctly and would only be visiting for a few days, he fished out his black dress robes and discovered they were too small for him. The morning he was due at Potter Manor he Flooed to Diagon Alley and would go to the manor from there.

"Sirius! Sirius!" Sirius spun around and saw Peter running towards him. He was panting by the time he got to him, "James told me you would be here. He would come, but he doesn't want to leave Remus and his dress robes are fine."

Sirius nodded, "I wish I could stay longer than a few days, but Mother has been giving me strange looks lately. I think she's figuring it out."

Peter's eyes grew wide, "What... what will she do?"

"I don't know," Sirius shrugged. His problems at home always seemed to pale in comparison when he thought of what Remus went through every month, and now his father was killed. "Come on, I need new robes for tomorrow."

Peter nodded, "Me too. None of my dress robes are black."

Sirius looked at Peter strangely for a moment, wondering exactly what color dress robes he had, but let it go. Everyone had at least one set of black dress robes. They entered Madame Malkin's Robes for Every Occasion and saw that they were not the only ones who needed dress robes.

"Hi Lily," Peter said a bit shyly.

Sirius blinked for a moment. Did Peter have a crush on Lily? The whole school knew that James liked her, and if Peter did too that was potential for disaster.

"Hi Peter. Hi Sirius," Lily was civil to him for once, and using his given name. Of course, she wasn't stopping him from hexing Snivellus, and James wasn't there showing off. "How is Remus holding up?"

Peter shrugged, "James is with him, hasn't left his side for days. I've been to the manor a few times but they're busy with plans and all."

Lily blinked at them in confusion, "He's at Potter Manor? What about his mother?"

Sirius elbowed Peter, hoping he would shut up and let Sirius handle things, "The attack was at the Lupins' house and there are probably Aurors crawling all over it. The Potters are helping with all the arrangements."

"You're all finished there dear," Madame Malkin came out with a parcel with Lily. She took it and headed out.

"Let Remus know he's in my thoughts," Lily paused as she passed them. "I'll see him tomorrow. Professor McGonagall stopped by and gave me a Portkey."

Lily left and Madame Malkin turned to Sirius and Peter, "Let me guess, black dress robes. You young ones always leave everything until the last minute. I may use magic but these things still take time."

She continued to complain as she pulled out sample robes and the automated tape measures took Sirius's and Peter's measurements. After selecting robes and picking up a supply of candy for the next couple of nights, Peter and Sirius left for Potter Manor, just in time to get there for dinner.

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	28. 27: Memorialized

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: Memorialized**

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Sirius reminded himself never to Floo again directly before Peter. The mousy haired boy stumbled into him, sending them both crashing to the floor at the feet of Mr. Potter with their packages scattering.

"No need to prostrate yourselves boys," Mr. Potter said with his customary indulgent smile, but his eyes were sad. "I know you like me and all but I'm not a god."

Sirius shoved Peter off of him and stood up. He shook Mr. Potter's hand, "It's good to see you again, sir."

"What have I told you Sirius?" Mr. Potter looked at him sternly.

"Sorry, it's good to see you Aaron," Sirius smiled nervously. It always took a while to recover from his parents.

"Hi Aaron," Peter said as he dusted himself off.

"Welcome back Peter. How is your family Sirius?" Mr. Potter looked bemused at the formality.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "The same as ever. You could do me a favor and raid the 'Noble and Ancient House of Black' but they'd just pay their way out of it. I almost wish Mother and Father would go ahead and get the Dark Mark so I could turn them in and get the hell out of there."

"That's not a fate to wish on anyone Sirius," Mr. Potter admonished with a stern look.

"I know, and they're too smart to do it. They'll just ride this out and come out smelling like roses to whichever side that wins," Sirius said with disgust.

Peter fidgeted nervously. He hated it when Sirius talked about his family, having been on the receiving end of Bellatrix's wand too many times.

Aaron Potter sighed and put a fatherly hand on Sirius's shoulder. He seemed to be taking in all the strays, "You only have three years left Sirius. You'll be fine. James and Remus are in the red room. You both know where it is."

Sirius nodded and ran for the stairs, Peter at his heels. If he ran in his mother's house he'd be restricted to his room for days. They burst into the red room and Sirius dropped his bag on the floor with complete disregard for its contents. Remus and James were sitting at the window in silence. They both stood when Sirius and Peter entered. Sirius crossed the room in large strides and wrapped Remus in a tight hug. Though Remus was taller he felt fragile and small. Sirius felt another pair of arms wrap around his shoulders, and then another around his waist. The Marauders were together again. They stood together for what could have been an eternity.

James and Sirius carried a couch over from the fireplace to join the two chairs by the window. When all four friends were sitting down an awkward silence fell over them. Remus was back to looking out the window and the others just exchanged glances.

"Lily says hi," Peter squeaked. Sirius wondered if his voice would ever stop doing that. "We saw her in Diagon Alley today. She said she's thinking of you and she'll be there tomorrow."

Remus continued to stare out the window as he answered, "How?"

"McGonagall," Sirius answered. He looked at Remus nervously and wondered how to confess to his friend. It was better to tell him than to embarrass him at the memorial.

"Whatever it is Siri, spit it out before you drive us all nuts," Remus said with a ghost of a smile that didn't reach his eyes. It was a little eerie.

Sirius took a deep breath, "I wrote to your mother."

Remus blinked at him in astonishment, finally looking away from the window, "You... I... when?"

"Right after I heard. You really dodged a curse Remy. Mother contacted the Ministry when we found out. She was going to try to take you in, and I was worried, and..." Sirius rambled.

Remus reached out and put a hand on Sirius's arm, quieting him instantly with the small gesture, "Don't worry about it Sirius. I... I just never thought to tell her." His gaze went back to the window and the grounds. "I didn't want to think about her. She hasn't cared about us for almost ten years, why would she now? I think... Part of me is afraid she won't even respond and part doesn't want her to."

"But she's your mother," Peter blurted out. Sirius winced at the lack of tact.

"Think about my mother Peter," Sirius said caustically. "Not all mothers are wonderful."

"I do miss her," Remus admitted. It was the first time he had said so in Sirius's hearing. "I think it's time for dinner."

It was odd that anyone had to remind James and Sirius that food was waiting for them. Dinner was strangely reserved for the Potter household. James actually sat still, though he frequently looked at Remus's plate and frowned. Remus seemed not to notice. Aaron talked about work, and Viviane questioned Peter and Sirius about classes. For the first time, Sirius was staying at Potter Manor and Clive was nowhere to be seen. Sirius's family and Remus's dad were carefully avoided as topics of conversation. Only when quidditch was mentioned did James enter the conversation.

Remus went to bed early and James, Sirius, and Peter all gathered in James's room.

"We have to work extra hard now," James said with determination.

Sirius nodded, "At the rate we've been going it will take forever. There are some books in the Black library that might help though. I'm going to try to sneak them out."

James's eyes widened, "Won't you get in trouble?"

"I think Mother is getting suspicious," Sirius winced. "If I don't think of something good this is probably my last summer there."

"That bad?" James asked. Sirius nodded.

"When's the next full moon?" Peter questioned nervously.

"You should know that by now," Sirius rolled his eyes. "Six days. How has he been?"

"It's hard to tell. You know Remus," James sighed and Sirius and Peter nodded.

Sirius continued, "He closes off and won't show any emotion at all. He's lied to the whole school for four years and we're the only ones who figured anything out."

James shook his head, "Lily figured it out this year. She hasn't even told the other girls though."

Sirius and Peter looked at James in surprise. They wondered briefly why Remus had never said anything about it, but dismissed it, as Remus never was one to offer information.

"Is he mad, or upset, or anything?" Sirius questioned James.

"Dad told me about when they found Mr. Lupin," James shivered. "It was bad, really bad. He didn't know about Remus yet, but after he found out he put it all together. The wolf got out, a thousand times worse than that time with Malfoy. The Death Eaters had bound Simeon with spelled ropes and Remus ripped apart them with his bare hands. It took Dad, Pomfrey, McGonagall, and Dumbledore together to stun him. Dad had to be checked for concussion. Dumbledore told Dad Remus had a magical outburst and that's what threw him across the room, but it was just Remus, with only one arm."

Sirius and Peter stared at James in shock. Remus had said over and over that they should be afraid of him, that they had no idea what they were doing, that they had no idea what he was capable of doing. He told them how he had to control himself at all times. If Dumbledore alone wasn't enough... if it needed four wands... Sirius gritted his teeth at whoever had done this, whoever had made Remus lose his precious control. Remus was probably feeling guilty for it still. It only made Sirius more determined to help his friend.

"I'm getting those books. We'll have it figured out by the first full moon of the term," Sirius declared. "We're more than halfway there already. We just need the final steps."

James nodded and held out a hand. Sirius placed a hand on top of it and Peter followed.

"Marauders," Sirius whispered.

"Marauders," Peter echoed.

"Marauders," James finished.

The three of them checked on Remus after they finished talking and found him still mostly awake, staring into nothingness. Without a word they all crawled into the big bed and fell asleep one by one, surrounding Remus.

The next morning Sirius dressed in his new robes. He had been saving most of his pocket money for years, at first in his trunk and then in an account that Aaron Potter opened for him in Gringotts under an assumed name. His mother had given him money specifically for these robes, though, so he had gotten the best her gold could buy and still had some left over for the candy that had been mostly consumed the night before and some Galleons left to put in his vault.

James, Sirius, and Peter had been up into the middle of the night planning. They couldn't do magic over the holidays, but a good bit of the work they needed to do didn't require any spells or potions. Once they went to bed the rest of the process for the transformation was organized in a schedule, not unlike the ones Remus made for them around exam times. He would have been proud if they could tell him.

Sirius brushed his hair and smoothed it back. He would leave it traditionally down, rather than pulled back in his usual short ponytail. He checked his teeth for any remnants of breakfast and slipped on his dress boots. Downstairs, everyone was gathered to Floo to Hogwarts.

Remus had been shocked to learn that the headmaster had offered the great hall for the ceremony and reception. The guests would all Floo or apparate to an exclusively wizarding cemetery where the memorials for the victims of wizard wars were erected. Wizards were always cremated, and the ashes fully disposed of, so the remains of the dead couldn't be used for dark purposes.

The six of them were early, and were greeted by Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and Madam Pomfrey, each of whom gave Remus a quick hug. James and Sirius were spared the hard look of warning and thinned lips that often appeared on McGonagall's face when she saw them and greeted all the Marauders with a hug. There would be no trouble caused by them that day.

"There are a few things we should go over Remus, before the ceremony begins," Dumbledore led Remus away.

James, Sirius, and Peter left the adults to talk amongst themselves and headed towards one of the large windows overlooking the lake.

"He's been talking with Dumbledore a lot," James said, looking with concern off to the door where Remus and Dumbledore disappeared.

"Dumbledore's conducting the ceremony," Sirius replied. "They'd have to talk."

"I've heard most of that," James responded with irritation. "I get the feeling there's something else. Something more is bothering Remus."

"His father was killed," Sirius stressed. Peter shifted about nervously. "You told me how he found him. I don't think you need to go looking for other reasons he's upset."

"Who are his parents now?" Peter asked.

"Huh?" Sirius was thrown by Peter's question.

"Well, his dad is dead, and his mum left, and he's still a minor," Peter explained nervously. "Maybe that's what they're talking about. Not many people would adopt a werewolf."

Sirius blinked, "You're right Peter. See James? I bet Peter bludgered the keeper on the head."

"I suppose," James temporized. All thoughts seemed to flee the chaser's head as he stood up straight and ran a hand through his hair, mussing it up a bit more than normal.

"Ten Galleons says Lily just walked in," Sirius nudged Peter.

"No bet," Peter responded and James shot them a dirty look.

They both turned and saw that several people had arrived, one of them a woman with long auburn hair that looked almost exactly like Remus otherwise. All the Gryffindor girls from their year had come into the great hall as well. Sirius told James and Peter to keep an eye out for Remus and made his way over to the woman. He gave her a short proper bow when he reached her. He might act like a wild teenager most of the time but his manners were impeccable when he wanted.

"Bonjour Madame Bonacieux. Je m'appelle Sirius Black."

"Bonjour Monsieur Black. Parlez-vous Francais?"

"Un peu, my mother insisted my brother and I learned enough of several languages for polite conversation," Sirius replied and wrinkled his face in memory of the painful tutoring sessions.

Suzanne Bonacieux bowed her head slightly, "I admit I was surprised to receive your letter."

"I'm glad you came," Sirius said and hesitated slightly before continuing. "Remus looks just like you, except for the hair."

"I can see that," Suzanne said and Sirius spun in place to see Remus standing behind him with James and Peter. Sirius stepped to the side and squeezed Remus's arm in support. "Bonjour Remus."

"Bonjour Maman," Remus replied softly.

"I am sorry about your father," Remus's mother said. "Is there anything I can do?"

Remus's expression did not give away whatever emotion he was feeling, "No, I have my family right here."

Sirius felt a surge of pride, much more willing to be a part of Remus's than his own, which dropped when he saw who entered next. Remus must have noticed his change because he looked at Sirius with concern and Sirius let go of his friend's arm. The group of three that had entered walked directly to Sirius.

"Mother, Father, Regulus, I'd like you to meet Suzanne Bonacieux, Remus Lupin, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew. These are my parents Ariadne Black and Linus Black, and my younger brother Regulus," Sirius formally introduced his family to his friends and Remus's mother. James noticed that Sirius's posture had instantly improved and his tone became very formal and deferential.

Sirius's mother nodded her head gracefully to each of them, while Sirius's father kissed Suzanne's hand and shook hands with each of Sirius's friends. Mr. and Mrs. Black greeted Suzanne in French. Regulus remained beside their mother and nodded at Sirius.

"We are terribly sorry for your loss," Sirius's mother directed at Remus.

Remus nodded stiffly, "Thank you for your concern and for your earlier offer. I am sorry I had to decline, but I had already made arrangements."

"Perhaps we can offer assistance to you at another time," Sirius's father said courteously, his dark gaze flitting to Sirius momentarily.

"I would be most grateful," Remus replied respectfully. "I believe the headmaster is looking for me. Maman, would you like to meet him?"

"Oui Remus, merci," Suzanne replied.

Dumbledore was indeed looking in their direction at that moment. Remus took his mother's arm and led her over to Dumbledore. The three of them talked briefly and Dumbledore approached the front of the room. Remus and his mother sat in the front row of seats, and the assembled wizards and witches began to follow their lead and sat in the very comfortable seats that had replaced the customary tables in the hall.

"You may sit with your friend if you so wish Sirius," his mother allowed.

Sirius nodded and headed towards Remus with James and Peter. They took their seats beside him and waited for Dumbledore to begin. Sirius took a brief survey of the assembly. The Hogwarts professors were all there, as well as several Ministry employees that Sirius recognized.

There were many wizards and witches he had never seen before including a group with bright red hair that had a few young children... they had to be the Weasleys. His parents often mentioned that family with scorn, naming them blood traitors. It was a glowing recommendation as far as Sirius was concerned. The majority of those present seemed to be students.

Sirius wondered if Remus realized just how many of their fellow students admired him, as they all had to be present for the sake of the deceased's son. Sirius, James, and Peter were the only Hogwarts students to have ever met Mr. Lupin.

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	29. 28: The Order of the Phoenix

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Order of the Phoenix**

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"Come with me Remus," Dumbledore said in a fatherly tone once the services and reception were over. The guests had all left, including Remus's mother. She was staying in London and promised to see him again before she returned to France.

Remus had seen the Gudgeons, but Joseph was not with them as the memorial had been during the day. He had already sent his condolences though, and promised to see Remus soon. James, Sirius, and Peter were going back to Potter Manor with Viviane Potter.

Remus followed Dumbledore into a chamber off the great hall. He had been through endless questioning regarding his father's work and every aspect of his father's life that Remus knew about. Remus had guessed from what he saw of his father's study that it was not a random Death Eater attack. All the papers were missing, as well as several books. His father had been targeted purposefully. After only a few questions Remus knew that Dumbledore suspected the same and had some definite interest in the event.

There were a few men in the chamber, Aaron Potter and two faces Remus had seen only in the Floo before... associates of his father. One of them stepped forward to shake Remus's hand, "We worked with your father in the Ministry. I was not aware he had a son until his death."

Remus nodded and sat down. It was no surprise that his father had kept his very existence a secret but, "the Ministry? He was a consultant. He didn't..."

The man raised his eyebrows and Dumbledore stepped in, "Remus, your father was an Unspeakable. He worked in the Department of Mysteries, and as of your admittance into Hogwarts he worked with me as well."

Remus was suddenly angry, with his father, with Dumbledore, with the Ministry, "Why didn't he tell me? I've been helping him with his work for years. He could have..." Remus just trailed off, his anger short lived and faded into emptiness.

"There was much he was not allowed to tell you," the man who worked his father told him. "I cannot tell you why he led you to believe he was a private consultant, but that was part of his work. He did not lie there. Simeon was a very private man."

"Why are we here?" Remus asked, suddenly tired. The full moon was in five days and he could sense secrecy... and hesitation.

Aaron put a hand on Remus's shoulder, "You know there have been some holdups with your father's will. The reason for this..." Remus looked up and saw his friend's father was uneasy. "Albus?"

"You are legally an adult Remus," the headmaster told him and Remus stared at him in shock. "It appears you have been for quite some time. Simeon liberated you sometime during your first year. I am not sure how he kept it quiet, especially from me," Dumbledore smiled.

Remus's brain kicked into gear for perhaps the first time since his father's death, "He was expecting this. He knew he would be a target and he wanted me to be safe when this happened. He didn't want me to become a ward of the Ministry, because of my..." Remus looked up at the headmaster's eyes were twinkling. He looked at him sharply, "What work did my father do for _you_, sir?"

Dumbledore smiled, "I told you he was bright." He looked back to Remus, "The work you helped your father with is the work he was doing for me."

Remus cast his mind back to the previous summer. His father had been trying to develop some new wards and protection spells, "Bloody hell James was right."

The headmaster chuckled and Aaron groaned, "What has he done now?"

"Sirius passed it off as a conspiracy theory, like the stuff in _The Quibbler_, but James is convinced," Remus had no problem telling Aaron. The man was never hard on his son and more often amused at his antics than angry. Remus turned to Dumbledore, "You have a secret group working against You-Know-Who outside of Ministry constraints and control."

"I have got to teach James to keep his mouth shut," Aaron lamented.

"It is called the Order of the Phoenix Remus," Dumbledore explained very seriously, "and your father was a member. Mr. Bode was intending to approach him for quite some time when he came to Hogwarts to discuss your education and I had the opportunity to offer him a place with us."

It was like his father's death had become secondary to the problem Remus's brain was analyzing, "You wouldn't have just told me any of this. You could have just questioned me about Dad's work and left it at that."

"That is true," Dumbledore allowed. His eyes were piercing, and Remus guessed that very few students saw this side of the man. "Remus, the Ministry wanted to nullify the emancipation your father put in place and to assign a guardian. There were multiple offers from families willing to take you in, including the Gudgeons and the Blacks."

Bode and the man who hadn't spoken both raised their eyebrows. Remus just nodded, "I should have guessed the Gudgeons would do that. I knew about the Blacks. When he's at home... Sirius has to pretend he's like his family, and we led them to think I might lean that way as well. His mother is easier on him because of it."

Aaron's hand tightened on his shoulder and Remus looked to him again, "Remus, do you know how dangerous...?"

"Yes I do Aaron," Remus said firmly, "but Sirius is my friend. They can threaten me all they want, or promise me power and money and freedoms, but it won't work."

"You've been approached," Aaron said tiredly, the usual carefree happiness Remus was accustomed to seeing in the man's eyes absent.

"Lucius Malfoy has been trying for years," Remus admitted. "He's never been direct, hasn't said anything that could incriminate him or his family, but his intentions were clear." Remus discovered that he had been sent off topic, and more than once. He focused on Dumbledore, determined to stay on one subject, "The Ministry...?"

Dumbledore chuckled again, "There were many who still believe you should be adopted. I convinced those that make the decisions to allow the emancipation to stand, so long as you are guided by Aaron and me. Your secrets remain safe. We pulled a few strings not to get the French Ministry involved as well, seeing as you are technically not a British subject."

Remus took that to mean that the men who worked with his father, and who had to be members of Dumbledore's Order, did not know he was a werewolf, "That is good. You still haven't answered my question. Why am I here? Why am I hearing all this?"

"Remus, you are the only person intimately familiar with your father's work for me. He only kept me updated on progress, not details," Dumbledore was looking directly into Remus's eyes and he got the feeling that Dumbledore could read his very thoughts. "The spells he was developing are important to continue. I can offer you two choices. You can familiarize someone else with the work you've been doing, or you can build from what your father has started."

Remus felt purpose burning deep within him. He knew it would be useless to apply for the majority of jobs that he would be qualified for when he graduated. This way he could use his knowledge and do something other than menial labor. He could make a difference in the war the wizarding world was embroiled in like James and Sirius were so anxious to do once they graduated, "I'll continue my father's work. I want to join your Order."

"You will not be a part of the main body of the Order Remus," Dumbledore cautioned him. "Your work will remain secret. You will get no credit for what you develop."

Remus snorted and replied bitterly, "The Ministry Patent Office would never accept an application from me anyway. I would be accused of stealing the work, or it would just be stolen from me. I've known for years that I don't have much of a future to look forward to."

"You may not tell your friends any of this," Bode spoke up. "The only people who will know you are one of us will be those in this room."

"I am accustomed to keeping secrets," Remus stared confidently at Bode. "I've been doing it my whole life."

"James is determined to become an Auror and follow in my footsteps," Aaron said with a touch of pride in his voice. "If, Merlin forbid, this war lasts that long he will join the Order. Even then you cannot tell him."

Remus gave Aaron a knowing look, "I would never have a reason to tell him. Anytime I mention research or Arithmancy he and Sirius run the other way, even though James is in the class with me."

Dumbledore dismissed the other men, but Bode stopped to talk to Remus before leaving and handed him a box, "These are you father's things from the Department, everything not of a sensitive nature that is."

"Thank you," Remus felt very lost and alone just then, holding onto the box of his father's things from a life he knew nothing about. He didn't watch the Unspeakables leave as he lifted the lid and looked inside. There were some papers, inconsequential things like quills and a bottle of ink... and the small lion Remus had made in his first year. He picked it up out of the box, "I never knew what he did with it... and he never said anything."

Aaron took the box away and pulled Remus into a hug. He didn't feel like an adult, or a wizard who was part an important fight. He was just a boy who had lost his father and he was lucky to have his friends and their families that cared for him. Remus accepted the hug, though in his mind he was shutting himself far away where nothing could touch him, where nothing could hurt him.

The day before the full moon was the first time Remus entered his father's house, now his, since the day he found his father dead there three weeks before. Albus, though Remus was a bit uncomfortable using the informal address, officially inducted Remus into the Order the same night they had first discussed it. He was accompanied by Aaron Potter, and Madam Pomfrey would be there in the morning. Though he stayed clear of his father's study the smell of his blood pervaded the house and on a full moon Remus could not avoid it. It would be a particularly rough night.

"Are you okay?" Aaron asked him.

Remus shook his head tightly, "Do you know if any cleaning spells were used?"

"The standard, yes," Aaron replied with a questioning tone.

"I can smell it... everywhere, Dad, someone else, a few of them," Remus was shaking in his efforts to keep control and was even trying to physically hold himself together. He looked up at Aaron pleadingly, "You should lock me up now. It's too dangerous, too strong."

Aaron looked at Remus in surprise, and Remus knew he was thinking of the night they had found Simeon and Remus had thrown him across the room. Aaron nodded and Remus led him down to the basement and the room his father had specially designed for his transformations.

"Do I just ward the basement door?" Aaron asked.

"You don't see it?" Remus said in confusion.

"See what Remus?"

"The door," Remus pointed. "There."

Aaron blinked and shook his head as if to clear it, "It wasn't there a moment ago. Is it silver?"

Remus nodded. It was the only way in or out, and the fine silver gilding on the door was more effective than any ward or lock, though there were plenty of wards as well. The wolf wouldn't get within five feet of the door once Remus transformed. It was always even a little difficult to force himself to walk through the doorway, so near the silver. Aaron opened the door... and Remus was surprised to see a large envelope inside with his name written on it in his father's hand.

"Wait... Aaron...," Remus stopped him from closing the door and handed him the envelope. "Hold this for me? It won't be safe in here."

"Of course Remus," Aaron replied and gave him a brief tight hug before starting to close the door.

"You should probably Floo Madam Pomfrey," Remus could feel his musculature starting to cramp and he sat down on the floor. He was wearing some old cast-offs of James's. "She may need more potions than usual."

Aaron nodded, "I will Remus."

The door closed with a finality that struck Remus every time, with the knowledge that it might be the last time he ever saw anything on the other side. He did not know, and never would know that Aaron Potter sat on the other side of the door all night and listened to the transformation, thinking of his own son and how lucky he was.

Remus did not wake with the sunrise as he usually did, or even when Madam Pomfrey arrived and the door was opened. He was in his own bed in his father's house when he opened his eyes.

"The boys wanted to be here and I had to take the Manor off the Floo to keep them at home," Mrs. Potter... Viviane said. Remus was oddly thankful. Usually the presence of his friends, his pack was exactly what he wanted after a transformation. This month, though, all he could think about was his father... and he would much rather come to terms with everything on his own.

"They show up in my hospital wing every month," Madam Pomfrey informed Mrs. Potter. "For two years now they've been knocking on my doors before breakfast even begins and they've already eaten in the kitchens! Drink Remus."

The vial contained a strong painkiller; one Remus had not tasted before but had learned about in class. It was followed by a sleeping draught and he started to drift away. The women left the room, but his sensitive hearing picked up their conversation on the other side of the door.

"Is it always like this Poppy?" James's mother asked the nurse, disbelief and concern in her voice.

"No Viv, not this bad, but he is always hurt," Poppy's voice was full of pain. "This is the worst I've seen except for the eclipse we had about a year ago, but I expected as much. Remus doesn't show his full emotions often, but it comes out through the wolf. When he is upset the wolf does what you saw."

There was a sniffling sound, "How could his mother..."

"We have only met her once, and each deals with pain differently," there was a pause. "I agree with you all the same. Keep him in bed for a few days. I'll leave some potions with you. You can move him back to the Manor when you see fit."

Remus faded away as she explained the different potions, the doses, and how often he could take them.

Suzanne Bonacieux arrived at the Lupin house the next day to say good-bye to Remus. She was greeted coolly by Viviane Potter and conducted to Remus's bedroom.

A cool cloth wiped Remus's forehead, "Are you awake dear?"

"Yes Viviane," Remus replied hoarsely. He pushed himself to a sitting position with a great deal of difficulty. He knew why she was there and wanted to get it over with. He would never forget his mother's scent.

"Your mother is in the hall," Viviane whispered in his ear. "I will send her away if you wish. She said she is leaving this afternoon."

"It's okay," Remus said. "It's been eight years since she left us. She can't hurt me again."

Viviane fussed about him, gave him a pain killing potion, and arranged the bedcovers to hide the worst of his injuries. Only then did she open the door to let his mother in and step into the hall to give them privacy.

"Just call if you need anything," Viviane told Remus before closing the door.

"I know it is too late for apologies Remus," his mother said, fiddling with a bracelet she wore. "Your friends seem like good people."

"They are more than friends," Remus said, still tired, still in pain, even more so than usual after a transformation. Their entire conversation was in French.

Suzanne raised her sculpted eyebrows, "I am glad for you Remus."

"Why Maman?" Remus asked the question he had asked himself a hundred times before he started Hogwarts.

She looked away from him, "After that night Remus, they told me you were going to die. Not one child as young as you had ever survived a bite. When you lived through that, they said you would die when you first transformed. Through that you lived as well. Each month I watched, half of me hoping it would be the last time, half of me praying you would live.

"It was too much," Suzanne's voice was shaky and Remus's couldn't stand to see the tears. "All your pain... I felt like my own. Part of me blamed your father, that he wasn't fast enough to save you before that beast bit you."

Remus cringed, "Beast Maman? Is that how you see me now?" There was no answer. "Please leave. You never have to come back. I will never seek you out. If we ever meet again it will be an accident."

Remus would have turned his back to her but he was still too sore. He closed his eyes instead, and listened to her heels click against the floor as she left.

"James used to pretend he was asleep to get out of his tutoring," Viviane commented from the doorway. Remus heard her step in the room and lay something on his bedside table, "the letter from your father. I will be just downstairs."

Once she was gone Remus opened his eyes. He took the envelope in his hands and held it to his face. It smelled like his father, so strongly it brought unwanted tears to his eyes that he pushed back. He broke the wax seal and lifted the flap, pulling out the sheet of parchment inside.

_Dear Remus,_

_If you are reading this son, than I am dead or missing. I apologize for leaving you so soon but there are some things more important than the life of one man, or the duty of a father to a son. I hope I have succeeded in leaving you independent. If he has not already intervened, although I am sure he will, go to Albus Dumbledore for help. I trust both him and Aaron Potter implicitly._

_You may already know Remus that I hid my occupation from you. I did so because I do not trust the Ministry, despite the fact that I work for them, or perhaps more so because I do. Should you actually read this letter, I have no doubt that I was betrayed by someone I work with, though there are too many to narrow it down to any particular suspect. Have as little contact with the Ministry as possible. If you can, do everything that needs to be done through Aaron and Albus._

_If I have been successful and the spell worked, then you found this letter only after being forced to transform in the Shrieking Shack. If that is the case I am sorry to put you through that. If you were able to see the door, and were able to show it to anyone else, then the spell is flawed but we are on the right path._

_The main purpose of this letter is to tell you where I've hidden my work. I have felt uncomfortable, watched, for some time now and have not worked on the spell you were helping me with while outside your transformation room. There is a compartment there, a lockbox transfigured into a foundation stone. The stone is in the south wall, three in from the left, two down from the top. Albus can return it to its original shape. Inside the box is all our paperwork on the spell._

_I have no doubt that you will continue our work. The Death Eaters will not find the papers. If you can survive your transformation each month, then I will not be broken no matter what they do._

_You are my reason and my strength Remus. Your determination to live and to overcome the restrictions placed on you by an accident in childhood give me hope for our world's future. Never think you are a dark creature Remus. Nothing could be farther from the truth._

_I love you,_

_Dad_

Silent tears were pouring down Remus's face as he read his father's words. He reread the letter and then put it carefully back in the envelope. He quickly scanned the room and saw that there were several vials on his dresser, one of them an Energizing Elixir. Remus forced himself to stand and make his way to the potions. He drank the Elixir and closed his eyes for a moment, giving it time to work, and put the envelope in his pocket.

He knew he startled Viviane when he walked down the stairs, wand in hand, "Please call Albus. He needs to see something."

Remus went straight down to the basement without waiting to hear what she said in return, though he was sure she would admonish him to get back in bed. He went to his room, and found the silver coated door closed. He pointed his wand at it, _Alohomora!_

The door swung open from the force of the spell and Remus walked inside. He found the corner of the south and east walls and started counting stones. Once he found the stone mentioned in the letter he ran his fingers over it, examining the entire surface. There was no apparent way to remove the stone by hand, no place to grasp it. Remus pointed his wand again, _Accio stone!_

With the stone in hand Remus climbed the stairs, just in time to see the headmaster stepping out of the fireplace. He held out the envelope, "My father left this for me... and this." He held up the stone.

As the headmaster read, Remus put the stone on the coffee table and sat down in a soft loveseat. Dumbledore finished reading and looked up, "I have already learned more than once not to underestimate you or your father. It seems I have done so again."

Dumbledore inspected the stone and cast several spells. When he was finished a lockbox stood in its place with another note attached to it. The headmaster read it, chuckled, and handed it to Remus.

_Albus, Remus knows the phrase to unlock the box. Don't bother trying to guess._

Remus smiled and tapped the box with his wand four times, "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish." The box sprang open and he looked up at Dumbledore, "I loved Doctor Seuss when I was little. He used that title whenever he password protected anything for me."

"Ah. It is true. I never would have guessed," Dumbledore smiled at Remus.

Remus opened the box and found dozens of rolls of parchment, all shrunk. He started pulling them out and was thankful that they were tied and numbered. One piece was folded rather than rolled and just had a few lines of numbers with horizontal lines over them. It was a word game, like in the muggle newspaper that his father had used to teach Remus logic and creative thinking.

Remus scanned it quickly and isolated the few words that could only be one of a few words. He set to applying letters to the seemingly random numbers as Dumbledore watched with raised eyebrows. A message soon appeared that told Remus the parchment rolls were sealed and charmed, and yet another childhood phrase was the activation for releasing the spell work.

Remus touched his wand to the scrolls one by one, "Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight."

The way the spell worked on the basement room already gave him a basis to work with on completing the spell. His father's notes were neatly organized... and entirely in French – written backwards. Remus truly smiled for the first time in over a week. His father had made it as difficult as he could for anyone other than Remus to read the parchment. Remus forgot the presence of the other two people in the room as he went to work... pain, fatigue, and grief all forgotten in the challenge the equations and notes before him presented.

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Please Review!

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	30. 29: Nighttime Flight

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Nighttime Flight

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Sirius had not wanted to leave Potter Manor, but he had no choice. He had barely seen Remus, and the tall sandy haired boy had pulled inward so that when his friends did manage to see him he was quiet and withdrawn and sad. It was like first year all over again, like all the trust and camaraderie they had built up was gone in an instant and Remus was hiding himself again.

A week in his parents' house and he still had not heard one word from Remus. James wrote, with comments from Peter scattered here and there. The other Marauders saw very little of Remus. James wrote that he thought Remus would just lock himself away in his father's house if Viviane Potter didn't go over there at least twice a week and drag him to the manor, insisting that he needed proper meals and human contact. She forced second helpings on him and gave him worried looks until he cleaned his plate.

_I'm worried about him Siri. Peter thinks I'm overreacting but I've seen how my mother looks. I can tell just by the look in her eyes when she's headed over to Remus's house to bring him back here. She would keep him here permanently if she could, but since his father made him a legal adult there's not much she can do. Every time I've tried to Floo over to see him she stops me and won't explain why or even look me in the eye. Something strange is going on._

James wrote no more than that. Sirius had some idea of what James was thinking... that it all had to do with the supposed secret group Dumbledore had. James was convinced his mother, father, and uncle were members. Sirius himself doubted somewhat that the group actually existed. His parents complained about Dumbledore but he never heard anything about some fighting force outside of the Ministry's purview.

"Sirius!"

Sirius cringed at the sound of his mother's voice traveling up the stairs. It did not sound good. He tucked away James's latest letter, pocketed his wand, and walked down the stairs at a dignified pace. The punishment for running would be worse than the punishment for not answering her call immediately.

"Yes Mother?" Sirius asked as he entered the drawing room. One of the house elves, little Kreacher's mother he thought, or maybe it was the grandmother as it was so hard to tell once the house elves reached their own version of adulthood, was cowering in the corner.

"We will further your education in curses today," the sickly smile on Ariadne Black's face cast Sirius's heart plummeting. This was not going to be good, not good at all.

"Yes Mother," Sirius nodded his head respectfully, wishing for some miracle to get him out of this.

"Luckily for you the perfect test subject has presented itself," Sirius's mother glared at the house elf. "Doria has misbehaved."

Sirius's head snapped to the elf and back to his mother. He had studied many curses at her demand and knew the day would come when he would be required to demonstrate, but thought that was at least two years away, that he would be safe until he came of age.

"The Restriction for Underage Sorc..." Sirius began to protest.

A hand across his face, hard enough to split his lip open, stopped him, "Do not argue with me! There are wards to prevent Ministry detection, fool. Act like the heir to the House of Black for once, pathetic boy!"

Sirius straightened and drew out his wand, trying to ignore the coppery taste of his own blood filling his mouth, "What would you have me do Mother?"

The sick smile returned, "Doria! Stop cowering and come over here at once!" The house elf approached, trembling. "Punish her Sirius. Show me what you have learned."

Sirius thought he might lose his lunch. He tried to convince himself that the elf was just a servant, not worthy of compassion, but he had seen different. The Potters treated their house elves like members of the family, not disposable, expensive but still disposable, tools. The house elves at Hogwarts were more like friends to the four Gryffindor boys than servants.

Nevertheless he pointed a steady hand at the quaking creature and spoke the incantation for a dark burning curse. It gave the feeling of burning alive without any physical signs. The house elf shrieked and cried, apologizing and berating herself.

When Sirius ended the curse he looked to his mother for further direction. She motioned for him to continue and Sirius spoke a curse that made each flick of his wand have the effect of a whip. He desperately wanted to stop, to cast some healing spells on the poor creature, but knew that worse would befall him if he did, and the house elf would not escape punishment. He tried to justify his actions, that it was better that he perform the torture because he actually cared and would feel tremendous guilt.

"Now," Sirius's mother interrupted him and he stopped, grateful for the end of that session at least, "cast the Imperious Curse."

Sirius blinked, "But that's an Unforgivable..."

Another slap sounded and Sirius felt his mother's ring, the large diamond turned inward, cut a gash on his cheek, "You are a Black! The Unforgivable Curses are nothing more than any others. That," she gestured to the elf, "is not human. Even should the Ministry detect the curses, which they cannot, the punishment is for the use on a fellow human. Do... not... question... me."

Nothing could stop the heavy breaths Sirius was taking. He tucked in his lower lip, willing the blood to stop flowing. His mother's tone had been quiet, almost a hiss, and much more frightening than any time she had yelled and screamed at him. The house elf looked up at him with its round eyes and he extended his wand again, _Imperio!_

"Tell my mother you hate her," Sirius commanded, knowing no house elf in the house would dare to even look cross-eyed at their Mistress Black. "Tell her you want clothes."

The house elf obeyed with a vague look, cursing at his mother who looked very pleased. She gave Sirius and approving look, "Very good son. Your power is certainly growing. Now, Cruciatus."

Sirius blanched. He didn't even know if he was capable of casting the Unforgivable pain curse. One of the requirements was hate, a desire to cause pain. He didn't hate the house elf and wanted nothing more than to end its pain, not be the cause of it. If he tried, his mother would know. The curse wouldn't work. He suspected he had delayed too long, but didn't know what to do. Sirius was frozen in indecision, in fear. He only barely heard the word little more than whispered from the shadows of the room, _Crucio!_

The curse hit Sirius and he dropped to the floor. He had never felt anything like it and only distantly heard his own screams. Those few moments were longer than any others in his life. Pain, unending, unendurable pain shot up his nerves to his brain. He was on fire from within. Daggers stabbed into every inch of his skin over and over. He tasted blood again as he bit his tongue. There was no telling how long he was under the curse. Minutes seemed like hours as he thrashed, wishing he could withhold his screams, deny that satisfaction to whoever had cast the curse. He wanted it to end... he wanted to just sleep... he wanted to die...

"That is enough Bella," Sirius's mother spoke.

Sirius remained on the floor, his muscles limp and twitching slightly. His eyes were still squeezed shut and he thought he was going to vomit from the blood that was dripping down his throat. There were tears falling from his eyes and he only noticed them when they reached his cut cheeks and stung the wound. The cackles of his cousin Bella, who was to be married in only a week, echoed in his throbbing head. He hadn't even known she was there.

"Get up Sirius," his mother commanded.

Sirius fought to open his eyes and obeyed. He stopped the tears and stood through force of will alone. Sirius refused to be defeated, to be broken. He glared at his older cousin, who was smirking at him with a satisfied glint in her eyes. Not for the first time Sirius was convinced that she was truly insane. The sleeves of her robes had gathered around her elbows and Sirius saw the feared tattoo on her left forearm. She made no attempt to hide the hideous brand.

"Love you too Bella dearest," he ground out sarcastically. His fat lip made talking a little difficult but he managed to be clear. He spat a mouthful blood at her feet, wishing that the house elves didn't have the power to clean it away, that his blood, spilled by his own family, would stain the house forever.

His mother and cousin continued smirking and his mother grabbed his chin, forcing him to look her in the eye, "Now it is your turn."

Sirius looked at the elf and projected Bella's face onto the poor creature, told himself he was cursing his cousin, or his mother, _Crucio!_

The elf shrieked and flew across the room, landing in a twisted lump on the floor. He had hesitated and the curse had not hit with its full effect. His cousin and mother were still laughing cruelly though.

"Just one more left for you Sirius," Bellatrix prompted. "It probably takes a bit more power than you can manage right now, little cousin."

Sirius was almost anxious to follow their direction now. If the elf died it wouldn't feel any more pain, wouldn't be tortured again. Sirius almost wished he was in her place. His wand was still raised, pointed at the small creature. _Avada Kedavra!_ A beam of green light hit the elf and it screamed. Sirius wanted to scream himself. He had only managed to hurt the poor thing even more.

"That is all for today. I expect improvement by tomorrow Sirius. Leave my sight," Sirius's mother commanded as though bored.

Sirius walked out of the room with as much dignity as he could summon, amazed that he could place one foot in front of the other without falling. He didn't think he could speak just then without crying. On his way out he heard a cutting curse spoken, followed by a soft thump. That was another plaque for the stair hall then. With that sound he made a decision that had been pushing into his mind more and more often of late.

Sirius paused at the second landing, trying to gather his thoughts. He had scouted the house carefully after his talk with Andromeda and knew exactly where his great-great-grandfather's portrait was. He entered the spare bedroom and was thankful to see the frame occupied, though sleeping. He cast a silencing charm on the room and prodded the canvas.

"You are a mess," the portrait gave Sirius a scornful look. "Have you been fooling around with muggles again?"

"That was ten years ago," Sirius said quietly. He gestured at his wounds, "This is my cousin's doing, and my mother's. You have a portrait in the headmaster's office, right?"

"You know I do," Phineas Nigellus said with disdain. "You have been in there often enough to see for yourself."

Sirius glanced towards the door and back at the portrait, "Please, I'm leaving here tonight. I can't stay any longer. Tell him, please?"

The portrait blinked at Sirius and gave him a hard look before disappearing from his frame. Sirius ended the silencing spell and left the room. He could hear his mother and cousin still talking in the drawing room, discussing wedding plans most likely with the decapitated elf lying in the same room. How could they just...? He knew he would never understand them, how they could be so casually cruel.

He would have to wait until dark, until late, until the rest of the household was sleeping and he wouldn't be missed too quickly. He wouldn't be able to leave the house unnoticed until the early hours of the morning. So Sirius went to the library. If he was leaving, he was taking a few things with him. He went through the shelves and noted in his mind which books might help him and his friends become animagi.

That done he pulled out one of the darkest books there, full of horrendous curses and muggle-hating propaganda. He focused his mind on the book, fueling his hatred of his family and his determination to escape, and thought maybe he understood why Remus had turned to books. They could provide a refuge against the darkness.

"Very good Sirius," a voice spoke from the doorway.

Every muscle in his body screamed in protested as Sirius turned to see his mother and father both in the entrance to the library. His father walked in and took the book out of his hands, turning it to check the cover. He nodded and handed the book back.

"You are taking your lesson to heart," Linus Black said sternly, coldly.

"Yes Father," Sirius said in a dull tone, with as little emotion as he could manage.

Sirius didn't even bother to ask for one of his parents to heal his injuries. Anything he received as punishment had to heal on its own as long as it wouldn't cause a scar... at least not a visible scar. This was the first time he had been punished with magic though, with straight forward pain.

Slaps he was used to, and even the occasional hard shove against a wall. If he was cut by a ring or a picture frame the cut alone was healed. He felt a tingle of magic as the cut on his cheek sealed enough that it would heal without scarring, but still provide a painful reminder of his transgressions for a few days at least.

"Clean up for dinner Sirius," his mother gave him a disapproving look, as though his appearance had been caused by some scuffle between him and the muggles in the neighborhood. "Your cousins are staying, as are your aunt and uncle."

Sirius nodded and stood, barely able to control the shaking that threatened every muscle in his body. There was the sound of footsteps as his parents left the room. He returned the book to its proper place and headed for the bathroom by his bedroom. A look in the mirror caused him to flinch. Phineas was right. He was a mess.

A damp cloth took care of the blood caked to his lip and his cheek. Nothing could be done about the bruises and swelling of his lip, though. The hand-shaped bruise on his left cheek stood out in a strange contrast against his pale skin, with a pink line from the partially healed cut. He washed his face and ran his wet hands through his hair. It was knotted in the back from the carpet in the drawing room.

Regulus looked at him with curiosity during dinner, though he didn't dare to ask why Sirius's face was bruised and his lip swollen. Sirius just gave his little brother a stern look, hoping to communicate that questions would not be welcome at that or any other time.

The talk over dinner was mostly about the approaching nuptials. Sirius commented where it was appropriate, remarked on the match between Belletrix and Rodolphus Lestrange. As far as Sirius was concerned they were both certifiably insane, and therefore perfect for each other. He hoped they would enjoy a shared cell in Azkaban someday. Narcissa smiled brightly and talked about flowers and dress robes. Like every other Slytherin wedding of late the bridesmaids would be in green, though the shade varied from wedding to wedding.

Sirius excused himself as early as possible and went up to his room. He wrote a quick letter to James and sent Boudicca out his bedroom window, watching as she flew off until she was no more than a speck in the sky. The owl was ordered to stay at Potter Manor until Sirius joined her there.

_James,_

_Ask your father if the offer remains open. I might see you sooner than expected, though Mother will not be pleased._

_Sirius_

If James was thinking at all he would understand and be ready. If not, he would talk to his father and Aaron would know. The Auror had been in Sirius's confidence regarding his family for over a year and knew more or less everything that happened in the House of Black, everything that Sirius was not too embarrassed or ashamed to share that was.

Sirius worked quietly on his homework. Whenever a family member looked in he was hard at work, translating Ancient Runes or theorizing for Defense. In actuality he was making a mental list of which belongings to take with him and which to leave behind. He wanted nothing that would remind him of this house, this family. It would take too long to pack up everything he owned anyway, and it was taking everything he had just to stay awake and fend off the worst of the pain remaining from the curse.

When the house fell quiet Sirius set to work with as little noise as possible. He folded up all his clothing and stuffed it into his trunk. His school supplies went in as well, as did every gift from his friends. Anything with the Black family crest remained behind. He pocketed several prank items with a nasty grin on his face. If he was leaving for good he might as well leave his family something to remember him by.

Sirius dressed entirely in muggle clothing and shrunk his broom and trunk. He had some muggle money, converted the summer before at Aaron's advice and carefully hidden in his trunk. He cursed nearly every object in his room and left a stinging hex on the doorknob. The library door was open and Sirius snuck in, pulling several tomes off the shelves. His trunk was enlarged and the books were stuffed inside.

After a second of consideration he grabbed the darkest books there and they joined his belongings. He could turn them over to Aaron and possibly save his brother from that much if nothing else. The trunk was reduced to the size of a Knut again and dropped into Sirius's pocket. His wand tucked nicely up his sleeve.

"Sirius," a whisper stopped him in his tracks as he made his way towards the stairs.

"Go back to bed Regulus," Sirius ordered as quietly as possible, his tone stern.

The eleven-year-old frowned, "Where are you going?"

"I'm sneaking out for some fun," Sirius grinned. It would be the perfect trick. Regulus could tell his mother and she wouldn't look for him until well after breakfast. "The muggles won't know what hit them. Mother and Father will be proud of me."

Regulus's eyes lit up and Sirius felt a surge of disappointment in his little brother, though it was to be expected, "Can I come with you? Please?"

"No," Sirius said firmly and the frown returned. "You're too young Regulus. I'll tell you all about it in the morning. Go back to bed."

Sirius's little brother glared, "I want to go. I can wake up Mother."

"Do not dare," Sirius let his wand slip out of its sleeve and pointed it at his brother. His gaze hardened and Regulus's eyes widened, "Run along like a good little boy. You don't want to be yawning through lessons with Mother tomorrow, do you?"

Regulus shook his head fervently, "No."

"Then go sleep," Sirius commanded. "Mother would not appreciate being woken." Regulus flinched as though he had not thought of the potential repercussions to him if he woke their mother. "I would rather not force you Regulus, but I will if you make me."

"Okay Sirius," Regulus looked disappointed.

Sirius wished he could take his brother with him, save him from a dark future, but Regulus would have to take care of himself, "Your Hogwarts letter should come soon. Toujours Pur little brother."

Regulus smirked at the Black family motto and straightened his posture, trying to look adult and proper for his older brother, "Toujours Pur Sirius."

Sirius breathed a silent sigh of relief as Regulus disappeared into his bedroom. He crept down the stairs, noting the new elf head on the wall, and into the drawing room. A few Zonko's treats were added to the tray there and in the parlour. He booby-trapped several doors, windows, stairs, and anything else he passed.

Sirius Constantine Black left the House of Black without a glance back and made his way through the night to the muggle Underground station. If his parents noticed him missing and didn't buy into his story to Regulus they would never search for him riding muggle transportation.

Muggles were certainly strange. At least, the muggles on the Underground in the middle of the night were. There was one in rags sleeping on the seats across from him, smelling absolutely hideous. There was no way to tell if the muggle was young or old, male or female. Another, a man, had long hair that was bunched into thick knotted locks. There was a woman with hollowed cheeks and a vague look that reminded Sirius of the house elf under the Imperious Curse and his stomach lurched at the reminder.

Sirius did his best to stay awake and not flinch at every jostle of the subway train. The Cruciatus Curse was still affecting him. He now knew intimately exactly why it was an Unforgivable, apart from the fact that it could not be blocked by any known shield. He could still feel his nerve endings on fire, ultra-sensitive to everything around him. The bright artificial light that the muggles used hurt his eyes and his headache grew until it was pounding and every little movement of his head was like a hammer to his temples.

"King's Cross next station, King's Cross," a bodiless voice announced.

Sirius stood and gripped the metal pole to keep himself upright. The movement of the train and the leftover pain threatened his normally graceful balance. The doors opened with a clang.

"Mind the gap. Mind the gap," the voice repeated.

Sirius stepped out and looked around quickly, suspiciously. He saw no sign of anyone who looked like a wizard but he wouldn't relax until he was inside the wards of Potter Manor. He rode the moving stairs, making sure to stay to the right as the sign said. The last thing he needed was to get arrested by the muggle police and thrown into muggle jail. No one would come for him.

This portion of the train station Sirius had never seen. He had always gone directly to platform nine and three quarters from Grimmauld Place, or used a Portkey to travel to and from Potter Manor. Even at this hour there were people everywhere. He inspected a sign that read 'Departing Trains' and started when it began to flip and change.

How did the muggles do that without magic? Sirius almost wistfully wished it wasn't too late to switch to Muggle Studies. When it stopped he saw that it had just moved each train up one line and added a new one. He read it carefully and saw a train headed the direction he needed to go, leaving in fifty minutes.

"One ticket for the train to Wrexham please," Sirius said to the bored looking man behind a glass window.

"Ten Pounds," the man replied in a monotone similar to the one on the Underground train.

Sirius fished his muggle money out of his pocket, wondering how paper could actually have any value. There was a paper note that had a number ten on it and he slipped it through the slot in the window at the counter level. The man took the note, pressed some buttons, and passed a ticket to Sirius.

"Train boards in thirty minutes, Track Ten," the man pointed vaguely and Sirius fought back a smile. He would be close to platform nine and three quarters.

Sirius took the ticket and looked around. He had thirty minutes. There was a cafe off the main room and he went inside and took a seat. When a waiter approached him he ordered coffee and eggs. He would need the coffee to stay awake through his train ride, protein to heal, and he didn't dare fall asleep. After twenty minutes, three cups of coffee, and a pile of scrambled eggs that were a bit too dry for his taste, Sirius paid his bill and left to find a bathroom before boarding his train.

"How old are you kid?" Sirius turned to see a Conductor looking at him suspiciously.

Sirius stood straight and looked at the Conductor with a superior expression that could only be achieved after years of conditioning. He had learned some things from his mother, like how to act as though the rest of the world was inferior just by stance and careful control of his facial features. His voice was just slightly aloof, "What is it to you how old I am?"

"Kids don't belong here alone at this time. Let me see your ticket," the man held out his hand.

Sirius rolled his eyes and pulled the ticket out of his pocket, "If you _really_ must know I am seventeen and traveling to visit family. My luggage was sent on ahead of me."

The muggle looked the ticket over carefully and handed it back. He gave Sirius a doubtful look and his eyes took in the bruises and swollen lip, "Be careful kid. London is no place for runaways."

Sirius just raised a single eyebrow and hardened the look in his eyes and the set of his lips, "As you could see from my ticket I am leaving London, and my Uncle Aaron is expecting me. Now if you do not mind my train is boarding."

Sirius spun on his heel and left the man before he could say another word, his heart pounding. If he was wearing a cloak it would have billowed out behind him. He had no idea what sort of authority the man had but chances were it wouldn't be too difficult for him to hand Sirius over to the muggle law enforcement.

He was thankful when the train began to move and dutifully held his ticket out when a man came by to collect them. The steady movement of the train and the passing scenery out his window lulled Sirius into a half-conscious state. Only the caffeine from the coffee and the leftover pain from the curse kept him awake.

"Wrexham next stop. Wrexham, end of the line," another bodiless voice announced.

Sirius stepped off the train and stretched, though every joint and muscle flared with pain at the movement. His eyes watered slightly as his head spun but he forced himself to walk. He had to get to an unpopulated area before he could mount his broom, which was in his shirt pocket, carefully protected. The shrinking spell he had used would reverse with a word so the Ministry wouldn't detect Underage Sorcery.

After what felt like hours and an infinite number of miles of walking Sirius reached a sleepy suburb. The sun was only just beginning to peak over the horizon and there were only very few people out. Sirius would have to take a chance. He hid behind a tree and pulled his broom out of his pocket, whispering to it, "Marauders." The broom grew to its normal length and Sirius gave one last look around. There was no one nearby. He rose into the air and hovered, getting his bearings. He had to fly west he reminded himself as he pointed his broom away from the sun.

The sky was bright when Sirius saw Potter Manor looming before him and relief flooded through his veins. Spots danced in his vision and he knew he was only moments from collapse. The massive stone structure never looked so welcoming as it was just then. He landed a few yards from the front door and stumbled up to it, leaning against the thick wood while he tried to gather the strength to knock. Before he managed it though the door swung inward and Sirius fell, his bones jolting against each other and his muscles screaming protest. His muffled cry did not go unnoticed.

"Master Sirius! Master James is expecting you!" Sirius cringed at the sound of the house elf, remembering the reason he finally left home. "Master Aaron!" the elf called loudly. "Tawney is needing you!" There was a pop and the house elf disappeared, followed by the thumping of footsteps. Sirius pulled himself to his feet with the help of the doorframe and saw Aaron Potter, actually two or three of them in his blurring vision, run into the entrance hall.

"Sirius!" Aaron exclaimed and approached him, wand drawn. He looked outside carefully and helped Sirius in. Sirius couldn't stop the whimper that Aaron's grip brought forward. "Merlin boy, what happened to you?"

Having reached his destination Sirius was falling asleep on his feet. He was only able to mumble, "Cruciatus," before his eyes closed and he felt Aaron grab him with his other hand to keep him from falling.

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	31. 30: Marauders are Marauders for Life

**Chapter Thirty: Marauders are Marauders, for Life and Beyond**

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The summer was quickly becoming the most action filled and busiest summer James had ever known. When he received Sirius's letter he almost panicked in his effort to find his father, only to discover he was not home from the Ministry yet, though it was rare for him stay that late. Similarly, his mother was not in the house and all the elves had been given strict instructions not to let James out of the house. He had eaten dinner alone in his rooms, not for the first time that summer.

He paced back and forth in front of the fire, waiting for his parents to come home, wondering where they could possibly be. They would almost certainly come by Floo, as an apparition barrier had been installed due to the increasing threat to the Auror corps. James suspected there was a little more to it but couldn't get a thing out of either parent other than a harsh look whenever he asked. He hadn't seen his Uncle Clive more than a few times all summer, and no one would tell him why that was either.

When the fire flared to life James didn't even let his father get both feet out of the grate before he thrust the letter towards him, "Siri's in trouble!"

After reading the letter quickly Aaron Potter looked over his frantic son and spoke softly, reassuringly, "I know James. Albus informed me earlier."

"How...?" James's panic was lost in place of confusion. He came to conclusion he didn't like at all, "He's not...?"

"No James," Aaron smiled and smoothed James's hair, and affectionate gesture both his parents were partial to. "The last we heard Sirius is relatively well. He managed to get word to Albus through a portrait of one of his ancestors, who was also a Hogwarts Headmaster."

James let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, "He can stay here, right Dad?"

"Of course he can," Aaron smiled indulgently at his only son, though he seemed to be adopting quite a few honorary sons through James's interesting collection of friends. "Now get to bed. Sirius probably hasn't even left yet and if you're not in bed when your mother gets home there will be hell to pay... for both of us."

James obeyed his father and went upstairs to his room. He had already sent an owl to Peter with the news and it was too late to ask to Floo Remus. James no longer had access to the Floo powder, because of the increase in attacks his mother claimed. He considered for a moment telling Frank, but his friend from tutoring sessions and childhood games was not part of them, not in the pack.

It was a restless night. James tossed and turned and only managed to sleep for brief intervals. If he knew where exactly the 'Ancient and Most Noble House of Black' was he would go to help his friend, but he only knew it was in London. As it was unplottable and protected a million other ways by the paranoid Mr. Linus Black not even Sirius was able to tell him its location, just that it wasn't far to walk to King's Cross even though they always took the Floo to avoid contact with muggles. It was most likely a sign of maturity peeking through that he didn't just head off for London on his broom. Finding one person in that city with no hint as to where they were would be impossible.

James finally slept for more than half an hour undisturbed. He woke to a house elf calling him.

"Master James! Master James! It is time to be waking up now!" Brenna said in her shrill, tinny voice, a voice that had woken him nearly every morning he could remember at Potter Manor. James groaned and rolled over. "Master Sirius is here!"

James was up like a snitch, "Sirius? When did he get here? Where is he?"

"Master Sirius is getting here two hours ago. Master Aaron and Mistress Viviane are with him in the great room," Brenna squeaked and left the room with a 'pop'.

James didn't bother getting dressed and ran down the stairs in his pajamas, eager to get to his friend. He could hear his father before he got to the room.

"Why didn't you Floo from the Leaky Cauldron?"

"Tom would ask questions," Sirius sounded more tired than James had ever heard him, his voice emotionless and drained.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," James's mother clucked at Sirius. "I'm going to have to call Poppy. I have never seen her so much in such a short time... and I thought James was prone to trouble! Drink this dear."

James barreled into the room as his mother lit the fire. He saw Sirius drinking a vial of potion, reclined on a settee. When the vial was lowered James hugged his friend, releasing him when he felt a flinch. James leaned back and saw the bruises and cut on the lip.

"Who did this?" James demanded fiercely.

"Precisely what I have been trying to discover," James's father commented.

Sirius looked at James beseechingly, "Please, I'm never going back there. Just... just let it drop. I don't want to talk about it."

Sirius's head lowered and he stared at his lap. James bit his lip and sat down carefully next to Sirius. He pulled the other dark haired boy to lean against him and they sat there quietly, no more words needed. If Sirius wanted to he would tell him later, or there was always Remus.

"I gave him an Energizing Elixir and a pain killer," James's mother's voice was muffled by the Floo network, "but I'd feel more comfortable if you looked him over. All I have here is for headaches and the like, not for curses, and what I have for Remus."

It was only moments later that Madam Pomfrey stepped through the great room fire and leaned over James and Sirius, "Mr. Potter, you will have to move for me to examine Mr. Black."

James smiled at the nurse and rolled off the settee. He sat with his father while the nurse examined Sirius, casting spell after spell on the battered Gryffindor. Sirius looked nearly as bad as Remus did after a full moon. Madam Pomfrey muttered under her breath as she worked and James caught only a few words, 'despicable... disgraceful... Azkaban'.

"Can I Floo Remus?" James asked his father quietly, doubting that anything else could get Sirius to talk.

James could have sworn a mischievous, if somewhat sad, smile appeared on his father's face but it was gone in an instant, "Of course James."

His mother held out the Floo powder and James stuck his head in the roaring green flames, "Lupin Cottage!"

The living room of Remus's house came into view and James suddenly knew what Remus was doing with his time. There were books and rolls of parchment everywhere. Remus was leaning over a parchment with a quill between his teeth and ink spots on his hands. James's jaw dropped and he coughed as he got some ash in his throat. Remus didn't react, though he had to know who was in his fireplace.

"What is all this?" James asked in amazement.

"Hi James," Remus said, somewhat distracted. He didn't even look up, "Arithmancy." Sometimes Remus could concentrate a little too hard.

"Arith... our homework was only..." James nearly forgot why he called in a moment of panic.

Remus finally looked up and smiled. James was stunned. He hadn't seen Remus smile like that in a long time, even before his father died, and wondered when that smile had become a rarity, "It's not homework James. You see... I was thinking..."

Knowing that those five words out of Remus almost inevitably led to James getting stuck in the library sucked into one of Remus's private projects involving massive amounts of time digging through ancient books in the library at all hours his eyes widened and he interrupted his friend, "Sirius is here."

The smile dropped and Remus's gaze darkened as the werewolf understood at once the implication of those words, "I'll be right there."

Remus was as good as his word. He stepped through the Potter fireplace seconds later, just after James had pulled his head out of the fire and stepped away, and walked straight over to Sirius as Madam Pomfrey was grilling him, "Who cast the Cruciatus Curse on you?"

Sirius just looked down, "They... I..."

James watched as Remus put a hand on Madam Pomfrey's shoulder and whispered something in her ear. She nodded and stepped aside, allowing Remus to kneel down next to Sirius. James marveled at his friend. When had adults, adults who were usually giving them detention for some stunt or another, begun obeying Remus? He puts his hands on either side of Sirius's face and turned the dark haired boys head to look straight at him. His voice was low, and soft, and soothing, and commanding, almost hypnotic, "Tell me Sirius. Tell me what happened."

That was all it took for the story to come spilling out, words tumbling upon words. Sirius was shaking and crying and rambling at the end, claiming he deserved being cursed, deserved the pain for what he did, cursing himself for being weak. When he was done he fell to the floor and lost what little food was in him. Remus cleaned it immediately with a flick of his wand.

None of the Potters spoke. Viviane was in tears herself and Aaron looked furious. James was dumbfounded, finally hearing exactly what went on in the House of Black and wishing he hadn't. Madam Pomfrey looked ready to either cry herself or curse the elder Blacks.

Remus was the only one who kept his calm, the supposed 'dark creature' with the wolf lurking inside. James could feel power literally pulsating from Remus, but his voice stayed soft, "Shh, Siri, it's all over now."

It was not long before Sirius was asleep, mental and physical exhaustion finally taking their toll. Remus picked him up as though he weighed no more than a feather, "Gold room Viviane?"

James's mother nodded and Remus carried Sirius away. James followed and watched as Remus tucked Sirius into bed and turned back to James, his amber eyes flashing, his jaw muscles twitching in an obvious effort to control himself.

"Stay a while Remy, please?" James said, hugging his werewolf friend.

Remus hesitated, but nodded and returned the hug. Later that day he collected a mountain of papers and his school supplies from his house and settled into Potter Manor again for the remainder of the summer. They contacted Peter and he came over immediately, completing the pack.

With them all there James felt like everything would be okay, that so long as they were together they could survive anything. Sirius slept through the day, and the night, with his pack surrounding him for protection and comfort all night, through the nightmares, and woke for breakfast with the rest of the household the following morning.

"I'm sorry for being so much trouble," Sirius only poked at his food, the skin under his eyes dark despite the amount of sleep he had gotten.

Viviane smiled across the table at him, "Nonsense Sirius. You know you are always welcome here. Merlin knows we have enough room for ten more of you."

The Hogwarts letters came with the post the next morning, all addressed to Potter Manor. James grinned as he held his letter in his hand, looking at Remus, Peter, and Sirius with a glint in his eye, "The moment of truth has arrived. Gentlemen, empty your envelopes!"

The four of them, Sirius still in a dark mood and Remus quiet and withdrawn, opened their letters simultaneously and tipped them upside down. There was a clatter as silver badge fell onto the table with a gold and red 'P' on it.

"I told you!" James declared triumphantly. "Let's see how it looks Prefect Moony!"

Remus, smiling in a dazed kind of way as though being chosen came as a complete surprise, picked up his shiny new prefect's badge and looked at it as if he had never seen one before. Peter and James were already celebrating and Sirius was looking a little less haunted. He was about to pin it to his jumper, but froze when he heard another owl headed towards them. He looked out the window and saw a black shaped headed their way.

"Siri..." Remus put a hand on Sirius's shoulder and Aaron stood, taking out his wand.

The owl flew in and dropped a pitch black envelope in front of Sirius, flying away quickly as if it wanted to spend no more time in Potter Manor than absolutely necessary. Sirius stared at the envelope in a mixture of fear, horror, and curiosity. He had assumed he would either get a Howler or never hear from his family again. This black envelope was a complete mystery to him, and to his friends as well from what he could tell of their expressions.

Aaron cast several revealing spells, "It's safe."

The whole dining room watched as Sirius opened the envelope with trembling fingers, read the contents once, twice, and a smile drifted onto his face, all the worry and anxiety dropping in its wake. The smile was finally reaching his eyes and they sparkled. He placed the letter face up on the table and everyone leaned in to read it, several gasps responding to the contents. There was shining silver lettering on the black parchment.

_You are no longer a Black_

James whooped and Remus hugged Sirius. Peter looked dumbstruck, but finally grinned and got up to do a celebratory dance with James.

"Aaron?" Viviane looked up at her husband with a little smile.

Aaron smiled and nodded. He gave each of the boys a hug, with an extra tight squeeze to Remus and Sirius, "I'm off to the Ministry. I'll take care of everything." The Auror chuckled, "I never thought I would spend so much time in the family welfare sector."

"This calls for a party!" James declared loudly and his mother groaned. "Remy's a prefect and Sirius got disowned way before we planned." He ignored his mother's raised eyebrows. "We need to get Frank up here... and I bet Lily's a prefect too... and Alice wouldn't mind seeing Frank I'm sure... and..."

Sirius, Peter, and Remus just grinned at each other as James rattled on. Remus looked over to Viviane, who threw her hands up in defeat and left the room. James had an elaborate party planned within five minutes and pared it down to only the Gryffindors of their year and a few others with a little persuasion from his friends. Remus never liked crowds of people and Sirius wanted to celebrate, but didn't want a bunch of people he barely knew questioning him all night.

The party had lasted well into the night, and Aaron had arranged Portkeys through the Ministry for the two muggle-born girls that were attending, Lily and Bea. Remus had been surprised that Lily had agreed to come to Potter Manor, but she spent almost the entire night talking to Remus and Peter, or to her fellow Gryffindor girls, or to Viviane Potter to James's great surprise. She had been polite to James and Sirius, but no more than polite. After talking to Peter later Remus discerned that Lily had been worried about him.

The remainder of the summer was potentially the best summer the Marauders ever had. Peter stayed at the Manor for the weeks left until school started. The four of them went swimming, hiking, flying, and drove Viviane up the wall with their pranks so that she insisted they spend several nights at the Pettigrews just so she could get some peace and quiet.

James, Sirius, and Peter were thankful for the time Remus insisted spending on his daunting Arithmancy project. James had taken a look at one sheet filled with numbers, symbols, and random letters that didn't make a bit of sense to him. He had known that Remus was beyond the level of their class but didn't know quite how far. The three other Marauders used the time to look through the books Sirius had liberated from the Black library, only making progress on a night of the full moon only a week before classes were scheduled to begin.

James's parents had long ago stopped entering a room that James and his friends were in without knocking first. After the time Viviane walked in a game of strip Exploding Snap, a potentially dangerous and embarrassing game, she had been unable to look any of them in the eye for a week, or maybe it was that they were unable to look at her. Aaron and Clive, who spent almost more time at the Manor again than at his house, had started laughing anytime they bumped into the four boys.

The three fully human Marauders thereafter always had a game of Snap set up mid-play while they were working on the transformation. Occasionally some of the cards would explode, their version of complaining from neglect Peter claimed, lending credence to the story that they were playing cards.

"Well color me blue and call me a Ravenclaw!" James jumped up from the window seat and nearly dropped his book, which would have lost the page that made him exclaim in the first place.

Peter and Sirius both looked up from their own books eagerly.

"What, what, what?" Sirius demanded rapidly.

James gave them a smug expression, "There exists... both a charm and a potion... that can reveal our animagus forms."

"Let me see!" Sirius grabbed the book out of James's hand and Peter read over his shoulder.

Peter let out an undignified squeak, "They're... they're painful."

"Of course they are," James sounded exasperated. "They essentially force the first transformation but once we've done it once it will be that much easier to perfect."

Sirius was looking over the information carefully, "We can't use the charm. It's dark magic so the wards of the Manor or Hogwarts would pick it up."

"It didn't say...," James started to argue but stopped at the haunted look in Sirius's eyes. "How about the potion?"

Sirius bit his lip and looked outside at the round yellow moon, "Questionable, but not technically dark. It uses hair, not blood, and that's really the dividing factor. None of the ingredients are illegal, or too hard to obtain, but some of them are expensive."

"I've got that covered," James said confidently. "Mum and Dad don't check my vault often enough to notice a big withdrawal, and if they do I'll think of something."

"Can we brew it here?" Peter asked nervously. James could tell he didn't like the idea of taking a potion he knew would cause pain, but if James and Sirius did it Peter would cave.

"No," James shook his head. "I can get the ingredients, no problem, but we have no idea how strong it will smell and it takes a full week to brew. We have to wait until September."

Sirius began to feel a sense of anticipation, like when the quidditch team was mounted and ready to go, only waiting for the announcer to give them the word, "So that's it then? We do it this September?"

"Yeah," James nodded, a distant look in his eyes. It was feeling much more real than when all they had to go on was meditation, "Now we have to figure out how to perfect the transformation once we know what we are."

Sirius and Peter both nodded, and all three of them went back to their books with renewed vigor. Almost as an afterthought, Sirius charmed James's skin blue by pouring a handy potion into his drink.

Remus had to know something was going on when he wasn't there. He had been more distracted that summer, with losing his dad and taking on some big Arithmancy project – James saw that as Remus trying to keep his mind occupied though, and off his father – but he gave the other Marauders a sort of suspicious and knowing look every now and then. James guessed Remus figured they were up to something, and that it had to do with him, but didn't snoop or pry because of how hard they were trying to keep it secret.

The most difficult thing to hide though was the day they went to Diagon Alley for their school supplies and James was planning on buying the ingredients for the animagus potion. The three of them had already decided to brew it in the Shrieking Shack. If all went well, by the time Remus went there and would be able to smell that a potion had been brewed, they would be ready to surprise him.

"Remus, this came for you," Viviane called out as the four boys came out of the fireplace laden with bags and set off for their rooms upstairs at a run. That was, of course, after Peter and James sorted out all their purchases that had spilled all over the floor due to their less than graceful transit through the Floo network.

Remus knit his brow, wondering who would have written to him. Everyone he corresponded with on a regular basis was with him. The girls sometimes wrote to him but they would all see each other in just a few days. He let Viviane drop the letter into his bag and went up to his room to pack his new books away.

The letter was in a very white, thick envelope decorated with shiny pink embossed roses and it smelled of perfume, so much so that Remus wrinkled his nose and held it at a distance. It didn't take long for the other Marauders to join him in his room. For the past few weeks they had been alternating which room they all slept in. James was the one who had herded them to the same room each night, he suspected to comfort both him and Sirius.

"What's the letter?" Peter asked, sniffing the air and making a face. Even his friends were apparently offended by the overwhelming scent of the envelope.

Remus had opened the windows but the scent pervaded, "Could one of you?"

James snatched the letter out of his outstretched hand, "Sure thing. It was sent to your home address. Mum must have gone there and collected your muggle post."

Remus nodded, "She had mentioned something about that." She would be checking it for him and insisted on taking care of any financial post until he graduated. He suspected she was paying his bills out of the Potter vault, but didn't want to offend her by rejecting her help.

"Let's see," James cleared his throat and began reading in high voice, "_Remus, I'm so sorry about the perfume. Mum and Dad insisted that Petunia send you an individual invitation and she wasn't too happy about it. In her opinion it's bad enough that _I'll _be there. Petunia insisted on dousing all the invitations and I think she was a little too liberal with yours. For once, feel free to retaliate. She has been driving me insane! Mum talked to McGonagall and arranged everything. Thank you so much again. Lily_." James's voice dropped as he read the name.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Remus asked for perhaps the thousandth time, not wanting to hurt his friend.

James nodded, but still looked disappointed, as he did whenever the subject was brought up, "She can't stand me Remy. I'll keep trying, but I can't hate every guy she goes on a date with, and you're not even really going on a date. You're just going as her friend," James then grinned his Marauder grin, "her intimidating, well-mannered, muggle-knowledgeable, wizard friend. She did give you permission to prank her sister. Maybe if you just mention your monthly problem..."

All the Marauders grinned mischievously at that. Lily's sister's attitude about the wizarding world was well known in Gryffindor tower. All the fourth years had agreed that Remus was the best one to escort Lily to her sister's wedding. Remus wouldn't even think of doing something at the wedding though. It wasn't only that he'd be flaunting the Secrecy Decree, but it would be unspeakably rude. No, he was sure the four of them could come up with something at a more appropriate, and much more amusing, time... like the honeymoon.

"Let's see," Sirius took the envelope and dumped out several pieces of stiff paper. "The wedding is in Surrey, on September 21," all four of them winced. There wasn't a wizard alive who would schedule their wedding for the Autumnal Equinox. It was just... inappropriate.

"Three days before full," James commented after counting the days in his head. "You should be in pretty good shape."

Remus smiled fondly. Once a few months after learning what Remus was passed, James and Sirius had always known when the full moon was coming, though they hadn't been the best Astronomy students before. Peter still tended to forget, but James and Sirius made up for it.

"It's a church wedding, outdoor buffet reception," Sirius continued, smiling at the prospect of a buffet. 'All you can eat' were words that the Gryffindor saw as a challenge, not an offer. "What does it mean, they're registered at Harrods?"

They all shrugged.

"Maybe they're going back to school?" Peter suggested doubtfully.

"Probably doesn't matter," Remus waved it off and then winced. "I still have to get muggle formal dress. I almost forgot all about it."

"You're supposed to send the R.S.V.P. to Marjorie Dursley," Sirius handed over the smallest envelope Remus had ever seen, and a little card.

James and Peter leaned over to get a closer look and James handed him a quill, shaking his head, "Muggles."

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	32. 31: Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

**Fifth Year**

**Chapter Thirty-One: Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs**

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Life without Simeon Lupin was odd. Remus had never realized how much his father's quiet presence had always been there. He knew his friends thought he was burying himself in his Arithmancy project to take his mind off his father. It was true that the work was his way of dealing with his father's death, but it was about giving the sacrifice his father made meaning, not taking his mind off Simeon. If anything he thought about his father more while doing the work, always considering what his father would have done at each step.

Viviane Potter had been more than willing to take Remus into muggle London to find something to wear for the wedding of Lily's sister. She also helped him find a gift, insisting that men, and teenage boys especially, would have absolutely no idea what was an appropriate gift. He discovered what being 'registered' meant and saw that Viviane agreed with him that Petunia Evans had gaudy taste, but James's mother never would have said so.

He nearly had a panic attack when they were looking at the items and floundered into a section with silver everywhere, but Viviane had calmly steered him away. They eventually picked out some crystal wine glasses that they both agreed were the most tasteful thing on the list.

The Potters continued to insist on paying for things for Remus... the wedding gift, his new clothes for the wedding, which Viviane insisted be specially tailored so that he represented the wizarding world in style, and Remus caught it when Aaron slipped small bags of Galleons into both his and Sirius's trunks. The only time Remus protested Viviane scolded him and said that they would have adopted him if his father hadn't emancipated him so they would be paying for everything regardless.

"What is taking you so long?" Remus yelled up the stairs. He and Sirius were sitting on their trunks in front of the fireplace, waiting to Floo to King's Cross. Aaron had late duty the night before so he couldn't take them to the station in a Ministry car, and Viviane had refused to let them take the Knight Bus.

James and Peter came down the stairs looking disheveled and rushed. James set his trunk down with a loud 'thump', "Peter couldn't find his Transfiguration essay."

That was more than enough explanation. Sirius sometimes wondered if Peter would have made it that far in school without his friends. At least he had a growth spurt, though. He wasn't quite as pudgy as before and would be taller than most of the forth years at least... well, taller than the girls anyway... or some of the girls.

Sirius was mildly nervous about heading to Hogwarts that year. His cousin Narcissa would be worse than ever, and Snape as well. His brother would be sorted that year and Sirius knew he would be in Slytherin. Ariadne Black had certainly poisoned Regulus's opinion of his older brother by that time. Regulus had never been as independent as Sirius and always eager to please their parents.

The Marauders all arrived together and found the compartment they had sat in for every one of their trips back and forth to the school. The stowed their trunks on the overhead racks and began to get settled when they noticed that Remus was hovering by the door.

"I, um, have to go the prefects meeting," he said a little hesitantly. James and Sirius had been teasing him ever since he received his prefect badge in the yearly Hogwarts letter. He knew it was their way of telling him they were happy for him and didn't want the position themselves but it still made him a bit uncomfortable.

Sirius grinned, then put on a dramatic expression of woe and Remus braced himself, "We lower life forms aren't worthy of the company of the exalted chosen... the Hogwarts prefects!"

"I can see it now," James joined in the mockery, "luncheons with the Queen Mother, top secret meetings, and the power to award detentions!"

Sirius waggled his eyebrows, "Make sure ours are all with Hagrid, right mate?"

"Whatever," Remus rolled his eyebrows but couldn't stop his smile. "I may lower myself to join you plebeians later in the journey."

Remus walked forward, realizing he had never been in the further forward compartments. The Marauders had somehow naturally gravitated towards the back of the train, as far away from the prefects as they could get. He met Lily halfway there and she hugged him in greeting.

"Remus!" Lily was smiling broadly. "I am so glad to get away from that house. If I had to hear one more conversation about which shade of lavender would be the most flattering on the bridesmaids I would have hexed someone."

Remus laughed, "I got a new suit to wear, and a gift. Your sister has awful taste."

"Don't I know it," Lily rolled her eyes. "I think Mum was expecting me to be upset that I'm not in the wedding party, but I am so thankful. If I had to wear that much taffeta and crinoline and bows... blech," she made a face in disgust.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Remus admitted, "but I'll agree with you on general principle."

"I, um..." Lily looked a little uneasy and glanced up and down the corridor.

Remus gave her a questioning look, "What?"

"I told Mum you're allergic to silver," Lily said in a whisper. "Petunia is insisting on real silver for the reception. Mum is making sure your placement is completely silver free."

"Thank you," Remus was touched. Lily hadn't mentioned his lycanthropy once after she found out, just continued to act the same way she always had around him.

They reached the prefects' compartment at the front of the train and gave each other little excited smiles before opening the door and going in. It was O.W.L.s year, a year of new responsibilities, and one more step towards being fully trained wizards and witches.

In the Marauders' compartment a silencing charm had been cast on the door and plans were being made to brew the potion that would reveal their animagus forms. They had long ago stopped speculating what the forms would be, each of them having their own ideas for the whole group. The books Sirius had liberated from the Black library ended up to be exactly what they needed. There was a step by step guide to the final process of the transformation.

"When we take the potion we'll transform slowly," James said in an undertone even though no one would be able to hear of they were shouting. "It's supposed to give our bodies the exact process so we can do it more quickly without the potion. That's why it hurts."

"It lasts for ten minutes overall," Sirius continued what they all knew by heart by then but kept going over regardless, "two minutes to transform each way and six in your form."

Peter nodded, "We should do it one at a time, instead of all together, in case something goes wrong."

"I'll bring as many healing spells as I can find too," James said thoughtfully. "Maybe we can nick a few books off Remy. If he's busy he'll never notice."

They looked at each other, excited, anticipating what would be the crowning achievement of their academic career... if it wasn't illegal and they could actually tell their professors. James thought McGonagall and Dumbledore would actually be impressed and somewhat proud... after they had ripped James, Sirius, and Peter up one side and down the other for breaking the law and then given them detention every night for the rest of the natural lives.

ooOOoo

"Black, Regulus."

Sirius watched his little brother stride confidently to the sorting hat, the first student to be sorted that year. He and Regulus didn't look much like each other. Regulus looked more like their father and Sirius resembled their mother's father, but they had the same eyes, that same clear bright blue. The two sets of blue met and Sirius almost flinched at the pure hatred his baby brother shot his way.

"SLYTHERIN!"

It only took a few seconds for a magical artifact to confirm that Sirius and his brother were not going to reconcile in that lifetime.

"Hey," James nudged Sirius gently. "It'll be okay."

Sirius watched his brother, no, not his brother anymore, just another wizard with the same surname, walk to the Slytherin table and sit down next to Narcissa. There was a smug look on the newly vested heir to Black and he said something that had the whole table burst out laughing.

He grit his teeth and grinned, not letting the Slytherins see that he was upset, that no matter how much he hated his family he could still remember the little brother that cried when he skinned his knee and came to Sirius for help.

"I just wish I could have saved him," Sirius whispered back to his best friend.

"There was nothing you could do," James insisted. "The instant you were sorted into Gryffindor your mother started 'fixing' in him whatever she had messed up in you."

Sirius laughed then, "Love you too Jamsie. I'm glad to hear how messed up I am."

James shoved him, "Prat. You know what I mean."

"MacMillan, Edward."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Yeah I know," Sirius continued laughing.

"Shut up you two," Remus hissed from across the table. "Don't interrupt the sorting."

Not the wisest move on Moony's part. Sirius and James both grinned wickedly, and Remus narrowed his eyes at them. They weren't about to disrupt the sorting – McGonagall would have their heads on a platter – but they could make Prefect Moony nervous.

"Shackelbolt, Kingsley."

"RAVENCLAW!"

They clapped and cheered along with the rest of the table whenever the hat called out, 'GRYFFINDOR!' All told, there were nine new Gryffindors that year, five girls and four boys.

"Hey Black!" Snape's snide voice called as they were all leaving the hall after the feast. "How do you like being no more than a black smudge on your family tree?"

The Slytherins around him laughed, but not in a good natured, lighthearted way. It was the laughter of people who loved seeing others humiliated.

Sirius held his head high and turned, "Hello Snivellous. How do _you_ like being a greasy stain on yours? As you must know by now, the Black family tree is no longer _my_ family tree, and I couldn't be happier. My family is right here."

He didn't wait for a response and he didn't look at his brother. It might be unrealistic, but Sirius would hold onto the hope that his brother would see someday how utterly wrong their parents were about so many things. Until then, Sirius would just go his own way.

The Marauders were all smiling as they went up to the Tower, though the group of first years was between Remus and the others. When they got to their room Sirius saw that Remus's eyes were almost glowing. He remembered how he felt when Remus had told his mother that the Marauders were his family, not her, and knew that Remus was feeling the same after hearing his declaration.

"I meant it Remus," Sirius said as they were all getting ready for bed. "You three became my family years ago."

He wasn't expecting to be nearly tackled in a tight hug from the werewolf. Remus almost never initiated affectionate displays with them. A third, and then fourth pair of arms joined the hug.

"The pack comes first," James said before they separated and made for their beds.

After perhaps an hour of tossing Sirius swore and got out of bed. He crossed the room and crawled into Remus's bed. Moments later James and Peter were there too and the four of them were able to fall asleep.

ooOOoo

It took a few days for Sirius, James, and Peter to nick Remus's prefect schedule, copy it, and figure out the best times to use the Shrieking Shack for their secret studies. The first weekend of the term they snuck out under the invisibility cloak with a bag full of potions supplies. Remus was going to be busy all day. He and Lily were giving the first year Gryffindors a tour of the school and then having a question and answer session for any problems they might be having.

James used a long branch to prod the knot that froze the Whomping Willow, and one by one they slipped under the tree and into the tunnel.

They had snuck out to Hogsmeade before. At least one of them did whenever there was a Gryffindor quidditch victory. After all, someone needed to provide the butterbeer for the celebrations. This was different than any trip to Hogsmeade though. What they were doing was not going to get them landed in detention is they got caught. They could end up expelled, wands snapped, and tossed in Azkaban.

"Remus is worth it," James had summed up for them neatly. Besides, they weren't going to get caught.

Peter was beyond nervous. Remus was his friend, a better friend that he could hope for really. Sirius and James teased Peter mercilessly, but Remus never did. All the same, he did not like what they were about to do. He did not want to experience horrible pain from the potion.

He did not want to fail.

He knew that without his friends, Remus especially, he would be failing his classes. His magical level was pretty low, near squib at times, and he didn't think he had enough power to do this. James and Sirius weren't going to take 'no' for an answer, so Peter would have to dig deep and find the Gryffindor bravery that had to be hiding somewhere inside him.

"Do we have all the ingredients?" Sirius was setting up the cauldron. Of the four of them, he was the best with potions.

James nodded and started removing canisters from the bag. It had taken a full week to prepare all the ingredients. Peter felt his stomach turn. They were actually going to be consuming that stuff. He wanted to tell James to stop bouncing. The movement was not helping.

"What's first Siri?" James wasn't quite bouncing anymore. He had folded himself up on the floor and was changing his position after sitting for only five seconds. In another five he would change it again.

All the ingredients were pre-measured and prepared. All they had to do was add them properly.

Sirius bit his lip as he looked over the recipe for the hundredth time. Screwing up this potion wouldn't mean a lower grade. It could seriously hurt one of them if they did something wrong.

"We have to simmer the tree slug livers in the bat bile," Sirius held out his hand and James passed the necessary ingredients. "Peter, you're in charge of the flame." Peter started and leapt to obey. "I want bright orange flames, at 150 degrees Celsius, for five minutes, then lowered to red flames, at 135 degrees Celsius. Got it?"

Peter nodded nervously, "Got it!" He took a deep breath, _Incendio!_ It took him a moment but he got the flames to the correct height, color, and temperature. He took another breath and started a timer glowing in the air when Sirius added the first ingredient.

Three painstaking hours later they had three goblets with a luminescent turquoise liquid filling them. The three Marauders stared, and all three of them had triumphant grins on their faces. They had never brewed anything that complicated before.

"Who's first?" Peter was proud of himself for not stuttering, or squeaking.

James lifted his goblet and held it high as if to toast the others. He smiled wanly, "Here it goes." He drank the full goblet all at once.

It took a minute, but then he felt his skin start to stretch. He panicked for a second and grabbed his wand. He used a quick spell to remove his clothes and send them to a chair in the room, neatly folded.

Sirius lifted his eyebrows and laughed, "Should we ask where you learned that one?"

James would have scowled, but everything _hurt_! Was this what the transformation was like for Remus each month? There was a prickling sensation all over his skin, and it felt like his hair was being pulled back into his scalp. His fingers were fusing together and his feet were shrinking. Then there was a pressure at his temples and he cried out when something pushed _out_ of his skin. Blinding pain distracted him from the other changes his body was making, and when it was over Sirius and Peter were much smaller than they had been before.

"Bloody hell," Sirius breathed.

James tried to say something back, but what came out was a whinny. His eyes widened. It worked! What was he? He looked down and saw hoofs and light colored fur, but exactly what color he couldn't say as everything was in shades of grey. He tossed his head and felt something heavy up there.

Sirius summoned a mirror from the next room and James trotted over to look at himself. He was a stag! It was magnificent! James was proud and held his head up high. He kicked his hoofs, but within minutes he started to change again. He tried to pay attention to everything he could about his form to make it easier to transform again.

He was sweaty and panting and limp when it was over, "If I didn't hurt so much I'd say I just had mind-blowing sex." James laughed at himself and half-crawled over to his clothes.

Peter's face was wrinkled up, in disgust or in dread James didn't know. He didn't like how his social life drove him apart from his friend like this, but there was nothing he could do about it. Sirius pressed Peter's goblet into his hand and Peter, shaking, drank it down.

It was the exact opposite of James. Sirius and James stared as Peter shrank... and shrank... and shrank... and then there was just a plain grey rat. Peter squeaked and jumped and scurried away from them. James took out his wand and summoned the frightened Peter-rat before setting him down in front of the mirror.

When the rat became Peter again, the smallest, still-pudgy Marauder had his hair clinging to his head in damp tendrils. He was breathing heavily, like he had just run a marathon, "If that's how you feel after sex I'll pass for now thank you."

James and Sirius both laughed and laughed. They clung to each other, and in overlapped, broken phrases, tried to comfort Peter with the fact that sex did not feel like that... not exactly... but they couldn't quite explain it.

Sirius was the last to go, and his transformation to a large, black, grim-like dog made Peter yelp with fright at first.

"It's not a grim Petey!" James said, exasperated at his jumpy friend. "Animagus forms are never magical creatures!"

Sirius-dog barked and bounded around the room, only getting a moment in front of the mirror to see his form. He gave James a wet, slurpy lick before he started to transform back.

"Ugh! Siri! Never do that again!" James wiped his face with the sleeve of his robe.

"What, this?" Sirius stuck out his tongue and chased James around the room, Peter cheering them on and laughing.

For the next several weeks they practiced whenever Remus left them alone. It was their great luck that Remus was a prefect, as he had to patrol the halls at least twice a week. It was during one of the earliest practice sessions that they almost got caught.

"Damn," James cursed. He was getting a splitting headache. He had managed to get the antlers, but not the rest of his form, and now he couldn't change back.

Sirius and Peter were no help. They were just laughing hysterically at him.

"Oh if only Lily could see you with those prongs on your head," Sirius wiped away a tear. "That's it!" He jumped up and brandished his wand, tapping James on both shoulders, "I dub thee... Prongs!"

Peter burst into a fresh bout of laughter and James scowled, "What's so funny... Wormtail!"

"Yes! Perfect!" Sirius was dancing around and shooting off sparks with his wand.

Peter stuck his tongue out at Sirius, "Can it... Padfoot."

"What are you three doing now?" Remus walked in and looked at James with raised eyebrows, "Antlers?"

"He did it!" James pointed at Sirius accusatorily.

Remus turned his gaze to Sirius, who shrugged, "I don't know how to fix him."

There was a deep sigh, "C'mon then. We're going to Poppy."

"What? No!" James protested vehemently. He sat on his bed and crossed his arms. "I'll just keep them. I like them."

"Yeah Prongs," Sirius was laughing hard again. "We'll decorate you for the holidays. You can give rides to the first years."

James glared, but Remus held the gaze until James gave in, "Stop acting like a three year old. I'm not transfiguring anything that close to your brain. It's damaged enough as it is."

The four of them trouped out of their bedroom together, James pouting the whole way. Luckily for him the common room was already empty for the night.

"So where you did you three go all day Saturday?" Remus asked, finally having a quiet moment to question his friends.

James and Sirius started whistling innocently and Peter stuttered the response, "H-Hogsmeade."

Remus put his hands over his face, "The first weekend! I can't believe McGonagall actually trusts me... they should have made both prefects girls."

Sirius snickered and put an arm across Remus's shoulders in commiseration, "Don't worry about it Moony. Just look the other way and feel safe in the knowledge that we're always somewhere, causing mischief."

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	33. 32: The Evans Family

**Chapter Thirty-Two: The Evans Family**

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To say Lily was nervous would be an understatement Remus thought, just a bit amused. She was fidgeting as they waited for McGonagall to meet them shortly before curfew with the Portkey for the Evans' house. They both had overnight bags and their formal clothes packed. It was Friday night, the wedding was Saturday, and they would return to Hogwarts on Sunday.

McGonagall came into the Transfiguration classroom and handed them a thick wooly sock. At Remus's raised eyebrows she just shook her head and raised her own eyes up to the ceiling as if asking for help from whichever deity she believed in, "This is a two-way Portkey. It will take you to Miss Evans's home in just a minute, and is password activated for the return trip. You must be touching it and say 'Hogwarts' together. I need not remind you, Miss Evans, that magic is strictly forbidden on holiday, whether it is summer holiday or a special trip home?"

"Of course Ma'am," Lily answered politely but shot a confused look at Remus.

"Have fun," McGonagall gave them both a smile, "but not too much fun."

With a tug at the navel they were whisked away and landed with a 'thud' in a fairly spacious living room. Remus steadied Lily and she smiled, "Why didn't McGonagall remind you not to use magic?"

"I'm, erm, allowed to," Remus said quietly but wasn't given a chance to explain further.

"Lily!" A tall, thin man swept Lily into a tight hug. "How's my Lily-angel?"

"Dad!" Lily blushed. Remus raised his eyebrows and smiled at her. She glared at him, "If I here one thing from Potter or Black about 'Lily-angel' you will be sorry Remus Lupin!"

Remus just laughed, "I would dream of it... Lily-angel."

"Hi Remus, I'm Christopher Evans," Lily's father held out his hand and Remus shook it. "Welcome to our home. My wife is out right now with Petunia and her bridesmaids. I expect her home in an hour or two so the girls can all have fun without any of us old folks around."

Remus smiled, "Pleased to meet you Dr. Evans. I've heard quite a bit about your family from Lily."

"All of it good, I hope," Dr. Evans gave Lily a sly look.

"Please Daddy," Lily replied with a roll of her eyes. "If I could only say nice things no one would know I have a sister. How would I have asked Remus to come to the wedding then?"

Dr. Evans looked sternly down at his younger daughter, "What did we agree to?"

"I promise not to upset Petunia on her wedding weekend," Lily said a fatalistic sigh, as she knew she was promising the impossible.

"That's my angel," Dr. Evans kissed the top of Lily's head. "What am I thinking, keeping you standing around here? Show Remus to the guest room Lily. You two should be getting to bed. It's late and we have an early morning."

"Yes Daddy," Lily stood on her tiptoes to hug her father and kiss him on the cheek. "Good night."

"Good night Lily. Good night Remus," Dr. Evans smiled softly and sighed.

"Good night, sir," Remus began to follow Lily but paused. He could feel the tension coming off the man, "You needn't worry about me, sir. My father's family is all muggle, like Lily. I wouldn't even think of making a scene at your daughter's wedding."

Dr. Evan's cocked his eyebrows, clearly taken aback by Remus's short speech, "I hope you don't think we see all wizards as unnatural or abnormal, despite what Petunia may say tomorrow. I trust that no matter what your upbringing, as a friend of Lily's you'll have no trouble behaving properly."

Remus nodded and followed Lily up a narrow flight of stairs to the second floor of the house. She showed him a cozy room with a twin bed, a bookshelf with a fair selection of material, and an armoire, and pointed him to the bathroom down the hall. She gave him a quick hug before retiring to her room for the night. Remus took a shower, as there would probably be several people wanting to use the bathroom in the morning and got into bed with his potions book. He set his wand to wake him in the morning and fell asleep reading about glamour potions.

A tingle all through his body woke Remus, the alarm he preferred to use with his wand. It prevented waking others. The wedding was not until after lunch, so Remus dressed in a pair of nice charcoal slacks and a button down shirt in Gryffindor crimson, left untucked. He cast a quick wrinkle straightening charm and went downstairs looking like his clothes had been freshly pressed.

Remus followed his nose to the kitchen and found a woman who had to be Lily's mother bustling around, very tense and nervous. She had the same hair as Lily, but was a bit taller.

"Good morning," Remus said softly. "Is there anything I can do to help out?"

She turned around and pressed her hand over heart, "Oh my, you gave me quite a start! You must be Remus. I'm Lily's mother, Claire. Please sit."

Remus gave a short bow and kissed the offered hand, "You should have a seat. You daughter's getting married today and you must have a million things to get done. The least I can do is take care of breakfast."

Before Lily's mother could protest, Remus had her sitting with a cup of tea while he took up with the cooking where she left off. Bacon and sausages were cooking, and Remus started whipping up eggs for omelets and cutting up various ingredients to go inside them. Mrs. Evans asked Remus about his classes, and he was explaining about using Arithmancy to deconstruct or construct spells when Dr. Evans entered the kitchen and kissed his wife good morning.

"Good morning sir," Remus said from the stove. "How do you like your tea?"

Dr. Evans gave him an interesting look, like he was trying to figure Remus out, "English Breakfast, black, with lemon."

With the full moon only a few days away Remus couldn't help but use his nose to keep track of the breakfast. He prepared a cup of tea and put it on the table, "Here you are. Bacon and sausage should be ready in just a minute and I can take omelet orders anytime."

Dr. and Mrs. Evans exchanged a look and Mrs. Evans smiled, "We should probably start with Petunia. She'll be down soon. She likes a two egg with ham and cheese."

Remus started it immediately and then piled the meat onto a plate, which he cast a quick warming charm on before placing on the table. At that moment Lily came in, still wearing a long nightgown. She gave her parents each a hug and a kiss and punched Remus lightly on the arm.

"Petunia's in the bathroom," Lily informed them and then gave Remus a cross look. "You never told me why you can use magic out of school!"

The three Evanses looked at Remus with interest and he felt himself blush slightly under their scrutiny, "My father emancipated me before he died, so I'm legally an adult even though I'm only fifteen. He was worried that I would become a ward of the Ministry or a family like the Blacks would take me in, which they apparently attempted."

Lily winced and hugged him, "I'm sorry I brought it up Remy. That would have been horrible."

He shook his head, "You couldn't have known."

"I thought your father died in an attack," Dr. Evans said with quite a bit sympathy Remus noted. "Was he involved in this... business Lily was telling us about?"

Remus nodded, "He worked for the Ministry in... well, he was pretty much in Intelligence, an Unspeakable, our equivalent of MI-Six. Dad knew he was a target and he suspected one of his coworkers was leaking information." Remus smiled fondly, remembering all the little puzzles his father had left for him, "He set up the emancipation quietly years ago and it was a bit of a shock to the headmaster and the Potters."

"We've heard a bit about James Potter," Dr. Evans was smiling again and his eyes were dancing with amusement.

"I can imagine," Remus grinned and Lily blushed. He was convinced she liked James as much as he liked her, but also thought he was immature and arrogant. "James is one of my closest friends, but he can be..."

"An irritating, obnoxious, conceited prat?" Lily finished for him with a frown. Remus laughed along with Lily's parents and Lily looked agitated. She was just as easy to tease about this as James was, "Isn't that omelet ready to flip?"

Remus closed his eyes and breathed in, "About ten seconds or so I think. Mrs. Evans, how do you like yours?"

Lily's mother looked a bit surprised and Remus remembered that he wasn't in his own kitchen or Potter Manor, "I'll take two eggs, onions, green pepper, and cheese."

Remus nodded and flipped Petunia's omelet just as she walked in. Lily automatically tensed and Remus handed her a tea cup. He whispered to her, "It's only for today Lee." Remus had given her the nickname when he found out her middle name was Elizabeth, making her initials L.E.E. "You can be sickly sweet for a day and then she'll be out of your hair for good."

Lily nodded and prepared her sister's tea, putting it down in front of the girl without getting any acknowledgement in return.

"My hair is just awful today Mother!" Petunia complained. "The hairdresser won't be able to do a thing with it and my pictures will look terrible!"

"Nonsense Pet," Dr. Evans said in a gentle but insistent voice. "You look lovely. Don't you agree Lily-angel?"

Lily smiled and Remus could almost feel the effort it took, "Of course Daddy." She turned and made gagging motions that her sister couldn't see and her parents pretended to not see.

Remus put her omelet on a plate and passed it the bride, "Hi, I'm Remus, Lily's friend. I never would have guessed the two of you are sisters."

Lily's eyes widened, and it was clear both sisters took it as a compliment. Remus was probably the only one who heard Petunia mutter, "Thank God for small favors," under her breath as she began to eat.

Not a word was spoken about magic or Hogwarts or the wizarding world while Petunia was in the kitchen. She was not very conversational though, so Dr. and Mrs. Evans attempted to make small talk, asking Remus innocuous questions about himself. He told them he was born in France, and he and his father moved to England when he was seven, leaving out why his mother didn't come with them.

"You were home-schooled?" Mrs. Evans asked.

Remus nodded, "Dad began my education a bit earlier than most, which is probably why I'm in the top of my class with Lily. We didn't expect me to get accepted to our school because of my health."

"You look perfectly healthy to me," Dr. Evans commented, giving a Remus a more evaluating look than before.

"I have a gradually debilitating condition, not really contagious but with a large amount of superstition surrounding it" Remus answered truthfully as he worked on his own omelet. Lily looked at him with wide eyes. There was something easier about telling muggles, as they would never guess the real truth. "I get treatment for it once a month. I don't think I'll really start showing symptoms for a few more years at least."

"You seem awfully accepting about it," Petunia said with a tone that could be interpreted as snide.

Remus noticed the hard looks her parents gave her but answered anyway, "I was diagnosed when I was four. I've had more than enough time to accept things."

Remus heard a crash of breaking glass and saw that Lily was staring at him with tears in her eyes. She had gotten up and dropped her plate when he spoke. Her family was in turn staring at her. She hugged Remus tightly, "Four! You were only four when you were...?"

"Yes," Remus answered, hugging her back and biting his lower lip. "Let me guess. You found all the books not in the library."

Lily nodded against his shirt, sniffing, "Owl order. Do the others know?"

"The books are all in our room," Remus said with a sigh. "All they have to do is read them." He turned to the Evans family, all of whom still looked a bit shocked. "Please think nothing of it. Almost no one at school knows and it's easier that way. Lily figured it out on her own last year, like my roommates did in second year."

"I still can't believe they got it before me," Lily wiped her eyes and gave him a weak smile.

Remus smiled ruefully, "They live with me Lee. It's harder to hide from people you share showers and a bedroom with." Lily began to sweep up the broken plate, but Remus put a hand on her shoulder, "I got it. _Reparo!_"

Petunia paled, and Dr. and Mrs. Evans looked a bit surprised, and then pleased as he tucked his wand out of sight again. Mrs. Evans smiled as Lily put her now whole plate in the sink, "Why, thank you Remus. We hear all sorts of stories from Lily, but with the legal restrictions we don't see very much."

Lily smiled, pleased that her sister was seeing some magic, "Oh that was nothing Mum, first year work."

Petunia didn't stay in the kitchen much longer, saying she had to get dressed before her friends arrived. That left Remus free to have the dishes wash themselves, much to the Evans' pleasure. It was one thing being told that their daughter could turn a table into a pig, and an entirely different thing actually seeing it in action.

The kitchen was spotless by the time the bridesmaids started arriving, all of whom were giggled vapidly and whispering to each other. Lily rolled her eyes and tugged on Remus, "Let's just say hi and get away from them."

"I couldn't agree more," Remus responded, definitely uneasy with the looks some of them were giving him. They all had to be at least five years older than him.

They all introduced themselves and reached to shake his hand. After complying with the first and greeting them properly, with a soft kiss to the back of the hand, Remus knew he had to do the same with the rest, and realized his mistake when he got to the last girl there. She had an excess of rings on her hands, at least two of which had a high enough concentration of silver that Remus could feel it was there before he even looked at her. He braced himself and took her hand, feeling the burning on his hand but refusing to show it in any way. It was nowhere near the pain of a transformation. She let go, and he immediately tucked his hand in his pocket.

The girls were all giggling even more as they went up the stairs to find Petunia. Had he not just burned his hand he might have laughed, or blushed, when he heard Petunia scold her one of her friends before shutting the door, "Emily! He's only fifteen."

"Oh Petunia, but he could pass for eighteen," Emily, apparently, answered.

Despite the pain Remus's eyes widened and he turned to Lily, who was looking up the stairs with narrowed eyes. She rounded on Remus, "Which one of them was it?"

"What?" Remus was genuinely confused. Lily had heard everything he heard, and couldn't possibly have caught the rings, could she?

"Petunia was there when I told Mum," Lily was looking like the lioness that was the Gryffindor mascot. "She knows you can't touch silver!" Lily reached for his right hand and pulled it out. Her anger seemed to increase when she saw the marks from the rings. Almost his whole hand was red and swelling.

"Oh dear! What happened to you?" Mrs. Evans came in from the kitchen.

"Those... those...," Lily couldn't seem to find the appropriate word.

Remus could feel a light throbbing, and he was probably sweating just a bit, "They couldn't have known Lily. Your sister couldn't go telling all her friends not to wear any silver, could she?"

"That's from...?" Mrs. Evans looked horrified and Remus nodded. "I had no idea it was so bad as that. I might have something... ice at least..."

Remus shook his head, knowing that no muggle remedy could help him, "No need. I wouldn't dare use my wand with my left hand for healing charms but I have some potions. Lily, could you get my bag?"

Lily nodded, close to tears for the second time that morning. Remus turned an apologetic gaze to Lily's mother, "I'm sorry. I've upset everyone this morning."

Mrs. Evans was certainly shocked at that and led him back into the kitchen, pushing him down into a chair, "Nonsense. You most likely kept Lily and Petunia from fighting like cats like they do most mornings."

"Which ones Remy?" Lily asked as she came down the stairs with his bag.

Remus closed his eyes, "Light blue, clear, and the ivory colored cream."

Lily nodded and took out the appropriate vials. She took the cork out of the light blue and put it in Remus's healthy hand. He shook slightly as he drank it, but instantly felt the pain fade away. They repeated the procedure with the clear liquid. He held out his hand and Lily poured the cream onto it. It felt like ice against his still burning skin. Mrs. Evans watched the whole process in amazement as the cream was absorbed into Remus's skin and the swelling and redness faded away, leaving his hand as good as it had been twenty minutes earlier.

"That was fast," she commented.

"I heal quickly," Remus said with a shrug. "It's one of the many side-effects."

Lily's mother was hesitating, "Is there anything you need? We have a salon appointment..."

"Go Mum, we're fine," Lily said tiredly. Remus held his hand up and wiggled his fingers to show it was fully healed.

"You're not coming?" Mrs. Evans gave her younger daughter a disapproving look.

Lily sighed, "You know we'll all be happier if I wait and go to the church with Daddy and Remus, and I hate having all that _stuff_ in my hair and on my face."

"Don't say I never tried," Mrs. Evans shook her head as she left the room. "Dad should be out back in the garden." She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, "Petunia! We don't want to be late!"

There was thundering as a passel of giggling girls ran down the stairs and Remus carefully hid himself from view. Lily laughed at him and dragged him outside. Within minutes they were up to their elbows in mulch, helping Dr. Evans in the garden. They stopped working two hours before they had to be at the church so they could shower and get dressed.

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	34. 33: Wedding Bells

**Chapter Thirty-Three: Wedding Bells**

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Remus was a little uncomfortable in the muggle suit, accustomed to much looser clothing. The muggle tailor had insisted that this was appropriate, though, and wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. His suit was black, with a shiny black stripe down the outer sides of the trousers. The hem of the jacket stopped at mid-thigh and had a straight collar rather than lapels, an oriental influence the tailor claimed.

He was just thankful for the little bit of resemblance to robes. His white shirt had an identical collar. He wore a long vest that was so dark red it almost looked black, until the light hit it just right. His cufflinks and button links were gold stepped squares, the top square in red. Remus suspected it was actual ruby but didn't want to know what Viviane had paid for them.

Lily came down the stairs and Remus realized he had only seen her in robes and casual muggle clothes before. Her dress was a deep emerald green, making her eyes even brighter than normal. It was floor length and while it didn't cling to her form every curve was accentuated.

If James ever managed to start acting his age he would be a very lucky wizard, Remus smiled. She was weary strappy shoes with a small heel and was still much shorter then Remus. She left her coppery hair down so it waved and fell to her waist. If she was wearing any make-up Remus couldn't see it.

"You look beautiful Lee," Remus held a hand out for her. "_Where_ do you keep your wand?"

Lily blushed and laughed, "I have it in a leg holster. I may not be allowed to use it, but if there's an emergency I'll be prepared. You?"

Remus brushed his jacket aside and pulled his wand out of a pocket Viviane had charmed into the shiny stripe of his trousers. He slipped it back in as Dr. Evans came down the stairs in a classic muggle tuxedo, with a black paisley vest with lavender accents.

"Are you two ready to go?" Dr. Evans hugged his youngest daughter.

"Just a moment," Remus grinned at Lily. "You are looking far too Slytherin."

"Remus!" Lily objected. Dr. Evans just looked amused.

Remus pulled his wand out and pointed it at his wrist. He cast a duplication charm then transfigured the clasp of the cufflink into a chain and put the necklace on Lily, "There, now you have a bit of Gryffindor on you."

They drove to the church in Dr. Evans's car and Remus was impressed with the architecture. It was a small church, but beautifully built with a tall steeple and shining bronze bell.

"Was this your church growing up?" Remus whispered to Lily.

They had been almost completely ignored once Petunia had dragged her father away to the rear of the church. There was something about the church that made Remus feel he had to whisper and memories of his childhood in France came rushing back to him, the village church that his mother's family attended.

Lily shook her head, "I never wanted to go and Daddy wouldn't make me. The other kids could tell I was different and I didn't have many friends. Petunia was the popular one."

"Maman used to take me to church, before...," Remus said quietly. The Bonacieux family had been members of the same church for generations, but Remus had been young when he stopped going, when he was bit.

Lily tugged him towards the front of the church, "Let's sit down so Petunia can't complain any more than she is already."

While they waited for the guests to arrive and be seated by the groomsmen they talked about their upcoming O.W.L. exams. Lily was in all the same classes as Remus and they went over quite a bit of their material, as they could only discuss theory and not actually perform the charms or transfigurations.

The ceremony started and Remus wondered if he had ever experienced anything quite so boring. The minister could have put Professor Binns to shame the way he droned on and on about the sanctity of marriage. He paid close attention though and was a bit disturbed at the vows themselves. There was nothing there about partnership and equality, and Remus reminded himself that muggle women had fewer rights than witches. They weren't even allowed to fight on the front lines for their country.

The reception was much better than the ceremony, outside in a park under enormous tents. The food was passable, but held nothing on the daily fare of Hogwarts.

"Why did Petunia actually promise to _obey_ her husband?" Remus asked Lily while they were eating. The tables were small and Lily and Remus were sitting with her parents.

Lily looked at him in surprise, "That's just how weddings are. Ours are different?"

"Very," Remus nodded and the Evanses looked very interested. "We use rituals that have been around for centuries. It's more... a joining of the spirit and each participant's unique talents than a promise to obey or stay together. No one would dare undergo a bonding if they didn't intend to be together for the rest of their lives."

"Do you have ministers or... holy people I suppose?" Mrs. Evans asked.

Remus shook his head, "Many of us do attend church, like my mother's family, but more on the continent than here. Anyone who is powerful enough to cast the weaving can conduct a bonding ceremony. Headmaster Dumbledore is in high demand from Hogwarts graduates, especially muggle-borns since they don't have family who can cast the weaving. Lily will be powerful enough to in a few years."

Both of Lily's parents looked startled and Lily smiled shyly. Remus wondered if they knew just how talented their daughter was. She didn't brag about her grades at school, though Remus knew the class standing of the Gryffindors in their year and who the top ten or so students were.

Dr. Evans gave Remus a shrewd look, "We've always known Lily is bright, but we don't hear much about her school apart from grades and friends."

Lily was blushing by then and Remus grinned, feeling the Marauder part of him stir, "She is definitely going to be powerful. We have two leaps in power, kind of like growth spurts. Lily's in the top five of our class for grades, and the top ten as far as power is concerned. That's a bit hard to gauge right now, as some of us have already had our first spurt. Mine came this summer. Lily's should come any time now and the second will be in seventh year."

Lily looked a bit surprised, "Who would you say are the most powerful?"

"I'm probably at the top," Remus admitted a little modestly, "because of my condition." Lily nodded. "James and Sirius are up there too, they both got a spurt over the summer, as well as Snape, Steven Stebbins, Narcissa Black, and Raine Zabini if their spurts came. They were up there before term ended."

"Mostly Gryffindors and Slytherins," Lily commented with a thoughtful look.

Remus nodded, "That's fairly typical. More power gets linked with bravery and ambition, not book smarts and steadfast loyalty. Frank is brilliant, but about middling as far as power is concerned. That's fairly typical of Longbottoms."

"Family does matter?" Lily looked confused.

"Without a doubt," Remus said seriously. "All our particular talents are hereditary. You have squib ancestors on both sides of your family or you never would have gotten the talents you have."

"Squib?" Mrs. Evans questioned. Both of Lily's parents were following the conversation closely.

Lily answered for him, "Someone with no or very little magic born into a magical family."

"Oh dear," Mrs. Evans called for her husband's attention and put her hand on his arm, "I believe its time for your dance with Petunia."

Dr. Evans nodded and stood. There was no more talk about wizarding bloodlines or magical powers. Remus danced with Lily, and was surprised when each of the bridesmaids insisted on dancing with him. He was thankful that the girl with all the rings had removed them for the wedding as he didn't know how he was going to refuse her. He danced with Mrs. Evans and finally ended up back at his table with Dr. Evans.

"Thank you for coming Remus," Dr. Evans smiled and motioned to a waiter for wine. The man poured for both of them, and Dr. Evans almost objected but Remus waved it away.

"I was glad to come," Remus said truthfully. None of the Gryffindors had wanted Lily to suffer through the wedding alone, and he had learned about more muggle traditions. Knowledge was never a waste. "Don't worry about the wine. I was born in France and started drinking watered wine with meals when I was three. I have the highest tolerance of anyone I know."

"Aren't you a bit young to know that?" Dr. Evans looked amused.

Remus grinned wickedly, "We come of age at seventeen, and live away from home for most of the year starting at eleven. I don't know a boy in my year who hasn't snuck a taste of firewhiskey."

"Has Lily...?" the man seemed unsure as to whether he should ask.

Remus shrugged, "I don't know what goes on in the girls' dorms. If we even try to get up there the stairs turn into a slide and this wailing alarm goes off. It's pretty funny and it happens at least once a year when someone forgets."

He was not about to mention how James and Sirius had discovered the way to circumvent that spell. One of their many dares that spring had been to find a way into the girls' rooms without triggering the alarm. James had figured it out. All a boy had to do was ride a broom to the door in question and through it. So long as he never stepped on the stairs he was safe.

Dr. Evans looked comforted at that and didn't say any more about Remus drinking. They sat there for a while and watched the dancing, Dr. Evans sharing stories about Lily's childhood. He talked about the accidental magic she performed before they any clue of what she was doing.

The evening ended with Remus completely sober and Dr. Evans a bit dizzy, even though Remus had matched him drink for drink. Petunia and Vernon were long gone, off for their honeymoon in Majorca. Lily had been asked to dance by several of Vernon's friends but eventually joined her father and Remus and watched Remus drink glass after glass of wine with no more effect than pumpkin juice.

Back at the Evans' house they all changed back into casual clothes. Remus took his telescope out of his bag and set it up in the backyard. He and Lily did their Astronomy homework, making note of their precise change of latitude and longitude, and Lily gave her parents an impromptu Astronomy lesson. It was mildly amusing to hear her explain more than once the difference between the moon waxing and waning.

They returned to Hogwarts in good spirits, and Remus knew he would never tell Lily what his little revenge on her sister had been. All four Marauders had agreed on it and included a page copied out of _Dangerous Creatures and Where to Find Them_ and a little note in the card that went with his gift, charmed so only Petunia could read what they said. It was a little out of character for Remus but he had never heard of muggles so horrible as Petunia and Vernon.

_I am a werewolf. Never hurt Lily or anyone she cares about ever again._

_Remus_

"So how was it?" James asked Remus a little sullenly when Remus returned to the Marauders' room in Gryffindor Tower.

Remus grinned, "It was more boring than Binns, Lily's sister is really as awful as she says, one of the bridesmaids just _had_ to be wearing silver rings when I met her, and I drank Dr. Evans under the table at the reception."

Sirius and Peter both laughed at Remus's short description of the weekend and James's eyes lit up, "Ha! You do think Binns is boring! You admitted it!"

"Please Jamsie," Remus said in tone that spoke of long suffering, smirking at his friend's scowl, "dust mites think Binns is boring, Ravenclaws think Binns is boring. There is not a being, living or dead, who does not get bored listening to that ghost lecture. I just didn't want to encourage you."

"Ooo, Remy, you missed the best prank," Sirius bounded onto Remus's bed and started to fill him in on what he missed at Hogwarts.

Remus was grinning and laughing along with his friends. The full moon was in two days and the wolf was nearing the surface.

"How were quidditch tryouts?" Remus questioned, knowing that he would hear all about it anyway.

Peter's eyes lit up, even though he didn't get anywhere near a broom unless James convinced him, and he fully narrated the tryouts. Remus was a little taken aback at Peter's descriptions of James's and Sirius's flying, which bordered on worshipful. It was a little disturbing, but Remus pushed it aside. It wasn't too bad if Peter lived vicariously through James and Sirius, so long as he had his own interests.

Come to think of it, Remus wasn't sure if Peter had his own interests. The only thing he did differently from his friends was the classes he signed up for in third year. Peter was taking Divination, which apparently consisted of pretending to predict all sorts of things since only actual seers could fully participate in the class.

"So, Asa Roberts is the new beater," Sirius finished with a resigned look. "He was the best of the bunch, and it was pretty pathetic bunch."

Remus just shook his head as his friends continued to lament on Gryffindor's quidditch prospects. He made a mental not to talk to Dumbledore... Albus. He needed someone to bounce ideas off of in his work for the Order. He would see the headmaster that night.

The headmaster understood immediately, and told Remus that every teacher in the school was a member of the Order. That alone had surprised Remus. Albus told him that Professor Bones would have been the one to take over if Remus had refused, and that he was more than welcome to work with him if he wanted.

Professor Bones looked at the parchment the next evening with a disapproving frown, "I believe these are the wrong papers Remus. I just read plans to turn Professor McGonagall's office and classroom into a cat-sized playground complete with scratching posts, the largest litter box ever created by man, and an assortment of catnip toys. Creative, but not what you wanted me to see I'm sure."

Remus snickered and tapped the parchment with his wand, "Jabberwocky." The words and drawings spun and changed, "Sorry, I forgot to change it sir. I password protected it for security and had to make it convincing. The plans are in James Potter's handwriting for authenticity."

"I noticed that as well," Bones now looked somewhat amused. "I seem to remember part of this plan being used last year?" Remus did his best to look innocent. "Let's see what you have here... and while we're working together you can call me Edgar."

Remus looked over some of the professor's books while he was going over the stack of parchment. There were some books there that weren't in his father's library, possibly taken by Death Eaters. Remus pulled a few down and started reading.

He was absorbed in an advanced look at using chaos math in Arithmancy to create spells linked to the magical signature of a single wizard. If he could make that work it might solve a few of the problems his father was having, and subsequently Remus had been having. He pulled out parchment and quill and started making notes.

"Fascinating...," Remus looked up to see Bones making his own notes. "Remus... what you've done here..."

"It's mostly my father's work," Remus said quietly.

Bones shook his head, "He makes notations in a few places where you helped, or worked something out. He wouldn't have gotten nearly this far without you Remus."

Remus was just stunned for a moment. He had felt like he was floundering, struggling to do anything with his father's work.

"It's common Remus," Bones gave him a small smile, "for us to feel lost in our work, like we'll never find the answer, that anyone else could do it better than us."

Remus nodded and then pushed the notes he had made from the book over to his professor, "Sir..."

"Edgar," A raised eyebrow admonished Remus.

He grinned sheepishly, "Edgar then... I think we might be able to use this."

The conversation was soon disjointed and full of incomplete sentences, mostly taking place on parchment as they scratched down numbers, equations, and symbols that might not makes sense to anyone else who looked at the notes. The professor smiled at Remus frequently and he was reminded of the times he worked with his father, only Edgar was far more emotional and frequently got excited about numbers the way James and Sirius got excited about quidditch.

They ordered up tea and a snack from the kitchens and were extremely careful not to spill anything on the table littered with scraps of parchment. The floor around them soon was filled with balled up parchment, discarded theories. Remus was elated. In that night alone more was being accomplished than in the past several months.

"Oh dear," Edgar looked up from his parchment.

"What?" Remus stifled a yawn and looked at the clock. It was more than an hour past curfew.

"This will just take a moment," Edgar turned on the stool he favored and lit his fireplace. With a sweeping motion of his wand he sent all the rejected parchment into the flames, then threw in some Floo powder. "Breanne Bones!"

The face of an attractive, but looking a bit angry, woman appeared in the green flames, "Do you know what time it is Edgar Stewart Bones?"

"Nearly midnight dear?" Remus was instantly reminded of Aaron Potter when Viviane was scolding him.

"Nearly midnight dear, and you were due at home over three hours ago!" Breanne Bones said sharply. "I had to put Jaime and Maggie to bed disappointed because Daddy wasn't home yet and his fire wasn't lit so we couldn't call."

"I'm sorry dear," Professor Bones visibly flinched and sounded extremely guilty. "I'll be home soon. I got caught up here."

"What was it this time?" Mrs. Bones raised an eyebrow.

Edgar motioned for Remus to step into view, "This is Remus Lupin Breanne, Remus my wife Breanne. We've been working on something for Albus."

"Oh," Mrs. Bones changed her entire demeanor. "I understand then. I'll see you soon then dear."

The head left the flames.

"Your wife knows?" Remus asked curiously.

Edgar nodded, "I wouldn't do this work if she didn't. It's a sacrifice, being away from my family so much, but here I'm close to Albus and can work on projects with no one the wiser."

Remus nodded, thinking of how his own father was betrayed to his death, "How old are your children?"

"One and three," Edgar looked a bit sad. "They don't really understand why Daddy has to be away, but with any luck once they're your age they won't have to worry about You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters." Remus nodded. Edgar scratched out something on a slip of parchment, "Here's a pass for being out after curfew. Would you clean up here and encode all the parchment?"

"Sure," Remus agreed readily, with even more admiration for his professor than before. He also felt a little twinge of jealousy, for the family he would never have. He watched his professor disappear into the Floo network and set about making sure that no one other than him could figure out what was on the parchment.

He stopped and looked out the window on his way back to Gryffindor. The full moon was the next night and he was dreading it. Every full moon after his father's death had been horrible, worse than usual, and he didn't know when it would stop.

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	35. 34: Charming Pranks and the Full Moon

**Chapter Thirty-Four: Charming Pranks and the Full Moon**

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"Pssst, Petey, number seven is 'Uric the Oddball'," a voice whispered.

Peter's head snapped up, "Huh? What was that?"

"We didn't say anything," Sirius responded.

"Not a word," James affirmed.

"All that studying must be getting to you," Remus contributed, mentally slapping himself. James and Sirius _knew_ that the wolf made him more likely to participate in pranks on days of the full moon. He had an hour before he left.

Peter groaned, knowing instantly he was victim to some prank but not what it was, "I hate history." He flipped through his book, "Which vampire led the Campaign Against Conversion?"

"Psst. Vampire Bertolt," the voice whispered again.

Peter yelped and slammed his book shut, "Quit it!"

"Peter!" Lily scolded from across the room. "People are trying to study!"

"They did it!" Peter proclaimed, pointing to the other Marauders. James and Sirius were snickering and Remus just continued working with a disapproving look on his face.

Lily stalked across the room, "James Potter! Sirius Black! What did you two do now?"

"Why us?" James smiled brightly and messed up his hair.

"Yeah," Sirius grinned, "Remus is sitting here too."

"Really," Remus frowned at his friends. "I'm a prefect. I'm not supposed to be pranking people. Besides, it's almost time for me to leave."

"I should give you two detention," Lily shook her finger at Sirius and James.

They both opened their mouths to protest and looked to Remus, begging silently for help.

"But we did that charm ages ago..."

"...it's not our fault that Peter hasn't opened his book until now..."

"...and it's helping him!"

Lily was working herself into a fury, "That's even worse! That's cheating!"

Remus put a hand on Lily's arm, "Calm down Lee. For one, Peter had no idea that what his book was saying was correct. For another, charms that read a book aloud are permissible, so long as they aren't used during class or tests." He flicked his wand and ended the charm. "No harm done."

Lily huffed and returned to her work, sending a look of sympathy back to Remus, then glaring at James and Sirius. The Marauders went up to their room and Remus got out his bag of full moon supplies.

"You won't win any points with Lily by pranking Peter you know," Remus pointed out as he slung his bag over his shoulder.

James sulked, "You helped."

Peter started at the revelation, "Hey!"

"Sorry Peter," Remus grinned wide. "The answers it was giving you were right."

Peter looked to be reconsidering, "Can you put the charm back?"

"I'll see you guys in the morning," Remus laughed, but James saw that it didn't reach the werewolf's eyes.

It was just over three months after Simeon Lupin died, time for Remus's third transformation. His friends were well aware that all the grief he had bottled up and was refusing to show was expressing itself through the wolf. They had seen how Viviane Potter looked when she came back from Lupin Cottage after the last full moon.

"We leave once it's dark," James said firmly.

Peter fidgeted, "But I'm still not..."

"Transform before we leave Peter," Sirius instructed. "You can take as long as you need, and you'll already be in animal form when we get there. You can freeze the tree for us. You'll be small enough."

Peter nodded. He was still amazed that he had managed to transform, though it took him several minutes. James and Sirius already had it instantaneous. They had been able to transform for two weeks and had spent the last several days helping Peter get it right. There was a soft _pop_ and the stag and dog would appear. All of them had been somewhat negligent in their schoolwork, working on this project instead.

They continued doing school work in their room, waiting for the sun to set.

Remus walked to the hospital wing to meet Poppy. He had done this so many times now he was sure he could make it with his eyes closed, walking backwards, and with cotton wadded in his ears and nose.

"Ah Remus!" Poppy gave him a quick hug. She had been hugging him every time she saw him ever since that summer. "I have five sick second years," the matron whispered to him, "and I shouldn't leave them. Have you picked up the Disillusionment Charm?"

"Yes," Remus nodded.

"Good," Poppy smiled at him. "I think we trust you to go on your own. There's a strongbox for your wand that the wolf won't be able to break, with the combination etched on the lid. Albus expected this would happen eventually."

Remus smiled reassuringly and nodded, a little nervous. He left the wing after another hug and headed towards the side exit that he and Poppy usually used. He stepped into an alcove and tapped his head with his wand, feeling the cold shiver down his spine.

The branch for freezing the tree was in place as always and Remus went through the passage alone for the first time. He entered the Shack, his muscles tensing with the anticipation of moonrise, and sniffed. It smelled different.

He examined the entire building before he was satisfied that he was alone. The lockbox was where Poppy said it would be and Remus opened it after he magically locked the door. There was room inside for his wand, his bag, and his clothes.

Once the box was sealed with the simple combination lock that no canine could possibly maneuver Remus sat on the floor of the Shack, naked, muscles tense, and watched the colors in the room change as the sun set, waiting. He closed his eyes tight as it got dark and let a little whimper escape when the first twinge came. The past two moons had been almost unendurable and Remus wondered how long he could last. Part of him just wanted it all to end... wanted to never feel the pain again... wanted some peace.

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"Transform Peter," James jumped up from his bed when he saw the sky turn purple. He had been staring out the window, his foot tapping the floor and his hand beating out a rhythm on his leg. His schoolwork had been abandoned for at least half an hour.

Peter nodded and closed his eyes in concentration. It felt like forever as James and Sirius waited for Peter for transform. The smallest Marauder had only managed to fully transform once so far, just the day before. Peter started to shrink though, and a few minutes later the rat scampered up Sirius's robes and perched on his shoulder.

"Excellent," Sirius grinned and patted Peter with a finger. "Good job Wormtail."

Peter snapped playfully at the finger and James covered the three of them with his cloak. They went down to the common room and waited for someone to go out the portrait hole, following under the cloak. It had taken a while, but the Marauders managed to learn how to silently coordinate their movements under the cloak.

There were a couple of close misses in the corridors. They almost bumped into Professor Bones, literally, but he appeared to be preoccupied with something and either didn't notice the wind caused by the Marauders skirting around him or he paid it no heed.

"Too unpredictable," Bones was saying. "It needs an anchor."

They got outside without encountering anyone else and Wormtail ran down Sirius's robes and towards the tree.

"What do you think that was about?" Sirius asked James.

James shrugged, "He's probably working on a new spell."

The tree froze and there was no longer any time to discuss their teacher. They slipped down into the tunnel and James removed the cloak. He folded it and stuffed it into his pocket.

"I love how these things fold up so small," James fondly patted his pocket.

They got to the trapdoor under the Shack and heard the sounds that led the villagers to believe the Shack was haunted. There was nothing to compare the cross between howls of pain and human screams. The knowledge that sounds were coming from their best friend tore at Sirius and James and they looked at each other, seeing the tears in each others' eyes.

"Remy," James said quietly.

Sirius gasped, "Moony."

They went through the trapdoor and transformed instantly, just in case. Padfoot and Prongs both saw Wormtail just outside a door, scratching at it with a little paw. Howls and canine whimpers came from the other side.

James transformed back to human form and took out his wand, "The door is probably locked. _Alohomora!"_ He instantly transformed back as the door swung open and a snarling wolf darted out towards them.

Peter dashed down the stairs ahead of the werewolf and made his way up to James's back, shaking the whole time. James stood firm, knowing that werewolves did not attack other animals, just humans.

For a moment they all wondered if they had made a mistake, if their information was wrong, if maybe the wolf could sense the humans in the animagi.

Moony bore down on them, snarling and salivating. He stopped only a few paces from Padfoot, who was in front of Prongs, his back arched and the fur standing up straight. The two canines growled back and forth for several long, drawn out minutes, and the human part of Prongs's mind wondered if they understood each other and how fascinating that was.

The growling stopped and the two canines circled, sniffing at each other. Padfoot barked happily then, and bounded around the room. He circled Moony and slinked under Prongs, and bounced off of furniture. Moony followed, his yellow eyes gleaming. It was the eyes that convinced Prongs. He knew that there was nothing of the human accessible to Moony, but those eyes were still Remus's eyes.

They had made no plans beyond helping Moony and Prongs felt a twinge of dread when Padfoot went to the door that led from the Shrieking Shack to either Hogsmeade or the Forbidden Forest. He was going to get them in so much trouble.

He galloped after the two canines as they ran into the trees, careful to pay attention to exactly where they were going so they could return in time for Moony to transform and the other three to get back to Gryffindor Tower.

Padfoot had never had this much fun before in his life. He cavorted with Moony, who actually seemed to be enjoying himself. Moony had said he wanted to run in the forest and play, and Moony was going to get he wanted. They danced around the trees, raced through the underbrush, and chased all sorts of small animals. They even encountered a giant spider, which was chased off by Moony and Prongs.

They never would have gotten Moony back to the Shack in the hours before moonset if it weren't for Prongs. With his antlers and large body he was able to herd the werewolf and get him back in his transformation room. Padfoot stayed back and transformed into Sirius to lock the door.

He was grinning widely but with a vagueness brought on by pure exhaustion.

"What were you thinking?" James asked, his eyes wide and his breathing hard.

Sirius wrinkled up his forehead as Wormtail turned back into Peter, "What do you mean?"

"He could have gone into Hogsmeade and bitten someone, or to the school," James was letting out the moment of panic he had experienced when Padfoot opened the outside door.

"He wanted to go to the forest," Sirius had this pathetic, half-guilty, half-stubborn look on his face. "He wanted out of his cage."

James softened, "He told you?"

Sirius nodded.

Peter cleared his throat, "Um, shouldn't we get out of here?"

There was a burst of activity as James pulled out the invisibility cloak and they all crowded under it, "We have got to stop growing."

"Or get another cloak," James suggested.

"Or Peter can always transform now," Sirius was grinning. Even if the others couldn't see it they could hear it in his voice.

They got back to the castle and slipped in the main doors as Pomfrey was headed out of them. The moon had just dipped below the horizon and there were slivers of light from the sun beginning to peek across the grounds. The three boys went up to their room and got together their school things. With their bags in hand they made their way to the kitchens and ate a large breakfast.

Pomfrey was waiting for them when they got to the hospital wing, "It was a good month, finally." The relief on her face was heartening and they all grinned.

Remus was in his usual room, propped up on pillows and looking confused. He was covered in cuts and bruises as usual, but it was nothing like the previous two months. During the last full moon he had nearly chewed off one of his feet. Viviane had called Poppy over and she had used some special charms and potions to re-grow muscle and skin.

"Moony!" Sirius grinned at him as the three human Marauders burst into the room.

Remus smiled at his friends. Without fail they showed up every month just after Poppy finished treating his wounds. He yawned, "Hey guys."

They all had circles under their eyes, faint but visible to his enhanced sight.

"Mornin' Moony," James grinned as wide as Sirius. They were all bubbling with excitement but Remus didn't know why. "How was your night?"

"You know I never remember," Remus gave them a funny look. It felt like they would all start laughing any second. He started to get suspicious. "What did the three of you do?"

"Us?" Peter squeaked. It gave them all away. Peter was always the easiest to read. Whatever they had been collaborating on was starting to bear fruit.

"We'll tell you all about it later Remy," James bent down and hugged him, raising Remus's suspicions even higher. Whatever they did, he might not approve.

They were all in the highest spirits he had seen in months though, and he was more tired than he usually was after a full moon. It was strange how his injuries were much less severe than they had been but his muscles ached like they never did after a transformation. It wasn't the ache he associated with being torn apart and put back together, but an ache from strenuous activity. He had never wished more that he remembered what happened under the light of the full moon.

The Marauders maintained their high energy level and cheerfulness all day. They celebrated their triumph with their performance in classes, their boisterousness in the corridors, the great hall, and their common room, and of course, by hexing Slytherins.

"No more Malfoy! No more Bella!" Sirius cheered after they had gotten Snape with a good bat bogey hex. "Life... is... _good!_"

Peter and James laughed along with Sirius. Despite the lack of sleep they felt incredible. Not only did they find a way to help Remus, but they had achieved a feat of magic that was usually only accomplished at the Master level with tutelage. If they could tell anyone they probably wouldn't even have to take their Transfiguration O.W.L.

James turned and saw someone with their hood up walking away. A gust of wind blew the cloak and robes tight presenting a rather nice view and his grin widened. The figure turned and sneered at them and James felt a wave of revulsion. He had _not _just been checking out Snape. He had to purge the images from his brain.

Nothing he did worked and he kept imagining that view, removing the robes of course, and now and then putting a different expression on that face. If Snape stopped sneering... and washed his hair... he wouldn't look half bad.

No... blech... it was Snape! Snivellous, slimy, slithering, sneaking Severus Snape.

James stepped up his harassment of the Slytherins in general. When Snape was covered in boils, or sneering at him, or spitting out his eerily cutting insults he was certainly not attractive. Sirius joined in the fun with glee. To him Slytherin represented everything he ran away from that summer, everything that had been hurting and rejecting him his entire life.

Remus was back in their room the next day after classes. He sat on his bed and looked his pack members in the eye, "Spill."

They all grinned at him and James cleared his throat, "I am proud to present to you Wormtail."

There was a pause of a few minutes and then a _pop_ and in Peter's place there was a rat that squeaked at him and stood on its hind legs. Another _pop_ and Peter was back. He gestured to Sirius, "In the center, Padfoot."

_Pop_ and suddenly the largest black dog, with bright blue eyes, Remus had ever seen replaced Sirius and then _pop_ Sirius was back, "And finally we have Prongs."

James grinned and _pop_ transformed into large stag with his fur on his head oddly messy. The _pop_ sounded again and James was standing there.

"You... all of you...," Remus didn't know whether to scream at them for breaking so many rules and laws or applaud. Why hadn't they told him? Was it because, as a werewolf, he couldn't transform into an animal at will?

Sirius kept grinning, "We've been working on it for years Moony. We did it for you! We were with you last night. We went running in the forest."

Remus was horrified. He clambered off his bed, "You let Moony out!" The other Marauders exchanged looks. This was clearly not going as they expected. "I could have bitten someone! I could have bitten one of you! Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?"

James flinched. It was exactly what he had told Sirius, and now he was on the receiving end, and Remus was either going to start blowing things up or crying.

"Moony wanted to run," Sirius stepped towards Remus, his own eyes getting teary. "He was trapped and he wanted out and I couldn't say no."

"You... you can... talk to the wolf?" Remus's voice was barely above a whisper. He staggered to his knees and the others knelt beside him.

Sirius nodded fervently, "It's weird... but Padfoot... sort of understands the howls. It's like how well I understand French... or Italian... or Russian. It was amazing Remy. We ran all night, and no one was hurt... including you."

Remus did start crying then. He couldn't help it. After the wolf had been controlled the day his father died he hadn't cried again. Now he found he was letting it all out... his grief for his father... his utter disbelief that his friends had done something so monumentally stupid and at the same so incredibly spectacular all for him.

"We won't do it again Remus," James promised quickly as the three of them wrapped their arms around him, "not if you don't want us to."

He couldn't talk, he couldn't do anything as he was racked with huge sobs. He didn't deserve such loyalty, such reckless disregard for their own safety to make his life just a little easier.

When he was somewhat under control he looked up at their concerned faces, "It was the best full moon I've ever had, and I didn't understand why. The past couple of months Moony has been so angry..."

Words wouldn't suffice. Remus took off his shirt, revealing the newest scars on his torso and his arms to his pack. He heard a muffled gasp and a hiss before a hand touched his back, and then another, and another.

"The pack comes first," Sirius said in his ear. "We'd risk anything for you Remus."

"We'd even die for you," James added.

Remus just nodded, not able to speak again as silent tears coursed down his cheeks. He had felt left out until they told him why, and then he felt unworthy, and guilty, and thankful, and so many emotions he couldn't identify them all.

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	36. 35: Tolerance and Intolerance

**Chapter Thirty-Five: Tolerance and Intolerance**

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Their fifth year was full of homework, Remus enforced study sessions for their approaching exams, the pranks necessary to maintain their sanity, and romps in the Forbidden Forest under the light of the full moon. Remus continued his work with Edgar Bones for the Order and his improvements on the Marauders Map.

He was convinced that the castle itself had some level of sentience and was affecting the Map, but he couldn't find anything specific enough about the building itself to prove it. He suspected that Dumbledore held the answers, but those answers would never be handed to a student, irregardless of their position in his Order.

Each full moon was planned in advance in excruciating detail. Remus insisted that if they were going to join him there would several guidelines in place. Prongs, as the only one large enough to control the wolf, would stick by Moony's side no matter what. If Moony seemed particularly enraged or anxious they would not leave the Shack. If Moony broke away Prongs would knock him unconscious if he had to.

James had not like that last one, but Remus made him swear an oath on his magic that he would hurt Moony before he let Moony hurt anyone else. Pain Remus could handle, as he had his entire life. The guilt that would come if he killed or maimed someone, or even worse if he infected someone, he could not handle. He would rather die.

Every month Remus was tormented by guilt. Dumbledore would be fired, disgraced, and possibly imprisoned if something went wrong and Moony hurt someone. By agreeing to his friends' plans he was betraying the headmaster's trust. So much trouble had been gone through to ensure his safe attendance at the school and he was ignoring those safeguards every month.

Yet one look in their eyes and he couldn't say no. This was his pack, his entire world, his life. They had accepted him without reservation and risked everything for him. He couldn't say no.

It became increasingly difficult to object to pranks as well. He was failing in his role as a prefect with some of the things he let Sirius and James convince them all to do. He wanted to turn in his badge, but that would mean confessing all to Dumbledore. Remus could not betray the boys who had done the impossible for him.

"Fourteen," Sirius counted as Remus tossed back another shot. "Bloody hell Remy do you feel anything yet?"

Remus blinked and cracked his neck. The full moon was close again, the next night, and it was a Saturday night. James and Sirius had been on his case for months to find out just how much liquor he could hold, so he just agreed to shut them up about it.

"Not a thing Paddy," Remus replied with a grin. "We may need to measure by volume rather than shot." He looked at the mostly empty bottle of Ogden's. "I don't think we have enough to get me even tingly."

James took the shot glass and poured one for himself, "Well we can't waste it all if it doesn't even do anything for you."

"That's right," Sirius took the next shot and then passed the bottle and glass to Peter.

The other three had already each had one, and with his second Peter was giggling, "We need to stay away from those spiders –"

"They're called acromantulas Peter," Remus interjected.

"How about we find out where that stream goes?" Sirius suggested with bright eyes.

James laughed and took another shot, "You just want to roll around in the mud."

"Dogs like mud!" Sirius protested. "We like smelly stuff, and gooey stuff, and streams and lakes."

"But not baths," Remus laughed. The others had been trying to get the password for the prefect bathroom from him ever since they got to school. James had known what it was the previous year, from his nighttime excursions with a prefect who had since graduated. Remus refused though, and he hardly ever used it himself. That would risk the other prefects seeing his scars.

Sirius tilted the bottle back, forgoing the shot glass, and frowned at James, "Roberts is driving me insane."

"Sirius do you think I should hold my bat differently... Sirius should I change my seat... Sirius am I doing a good job... Sirius will you marry me," James mocked the latest addition to the Gryffindor quidditch team and batted his eyelashes at Sirius.

"He's pathetic!" Peter giggled and almost fell over as he reached for the bottle. "You should hex him Sirius."

"Merlin no," Remus protested. "He needs the few functioning brain cells he has or we don't have a chance for the Cup."

"House or Quidditch?" James looked confused all of sudden.

Remus grinned at his friends' inebriation, "Take your pick."

The bottle was empty and Sirius tilted it back to look inside and see if there any more, "Nuts."

"Time to sleep it off," Remus started levitating his friends to their beds. The instant one was in, another would crawl out. He wondered if being a father was like this, but knew he would never find out firsthand. "Bugger. You leave me no choice."

He cast cleaning charms on all three of them, used a spell that Poppy cast on him when he couldn't move to get to the bathroom, and spelled them into their pajamas, then floated them all to James's bed.

"Aw Remy," James purred, "I didn't know you cared."

Sirius on the other hand looked disturbed, "What in Merlin's name was that?"

"Sleep," Remus growled insistently. "I'll tell you in the morning."

He spelled James's curtains shut and climbed into his own bed, smiling as he fell asleep. A silencing charm separated him from his friends' snores.

"I find it highly disturbing that you know a spell to relieve my bladder for me," Sirius whispered in Remus's ear on their way to first breakfast and then class.

Remus laughed, "I only know it because Poppy's had to use it on me at least a dozen times."

"Still," James squirmed a bit as they entered the great hall for breakfast. "Warn us next time, okay Moony?"

"Warn you while you're too drunk to comprehend, or care?" Remus smirked at them. "Why bother?"

Sirius started tickling him and James wrapped his arms around him. Remus could easily break free but that would reveal too much. He had to submit to the torture and his friends knew it. In a way it made it worse, much worse. Peter joined in the tickling and Remus squealed.

"Promise!" James said in a sing-song voice.

"Alright," Remus was gasping for air, "alright, I promise." He held up a hand, "Marauder's honor."

"You people make me sick," Snape sneered at them as he walked by to get to the Slytherin table.

"Just returning the favor Snivelly!" Sirius shouted cheerfully.

James, Sirius, and Peter didn't stop laughing even while they started eating. Remus was thankful for his self control, especially because of the disapproving stare from Lily.

"It wasn't my fault Lee! They attacked me, not the other way around!" Remus protested.

She sighed, "You're a prefect Remy! You shouldn't encourage them."

"And precisely how would I stop doing that?" Remus raised an eyebrow. "If you saw the walls of our room, you would see the detention tally sheet. They're proud to earn more detentions than any previous Hogwarts students."

"Try more than _all_ previous Hogwarts students," Bea input from next to Lily.

"Why thank you Beatrice," Sirius smiled like he did when he was trying to pick up a girl. "I didn't know you thought so highly of us."

She blushed bright red and went back to her food, and Lily just groaned.

It was true. No amount of detentions would dissuade James and Sirius from pulling a prank or breaking a rule. They could scrub cauldrons, polish trophies, and wax floors until their knuckles bled, and they would return to their room to plan out the next prank.

Sometimes Remus marveled at their cavalier attitude. Whenever some topic even remotely depressing was broached, like Death Eaters or the Black family or Remus's prospects after Hogwarts, the two of them pushed it aside and started thinking up ways to get the whole school laughing.

"C'mon," James tugged at Remus's sleeve. As the werewolf had predicted their first year, all of his clothing showed the slightest wear at that same spot where James always pulled to get his attention, "Potions time, library, study. The essay is due in two days."

Remus groaned. It was the one class he always dreaded, the one class he would be thrilled to drop after the N.E.W.T.s, the only class that someone else had to convince him to study for. The only reason Remus was glad that no one would hire him after Hogwarts was that he didn't need his Potions N.E.W.T. for any prospective job. He almost didn't care what grades what he got, but then another part gasped in shock at the ambivalence towards his academic standing.

"The Potters are taking in all the strays," Snape's voice said behind them.

The Marauders turned and saw Nott smirking next to him, "First the mudblood's son, then the blood-traitor. What's next? Muggle filth?"

James could almost feel Remus's growing anger, "What did you call my father?"

"He was a mudblood, a filthy waste of magic," Snape spat. "He deserved what he got."

James wondered at that moment how he could have ever found that Slytherin even remotely attractive. Remus was restraining the wolf but it wouldn't hold forever, not with the full moon that night. He wrapped his arms around Remus to hold him for the second time that morning, and was joined by Peter. James whispered in Remus's ear soothingly.

Remus focused on the Slytherin and could feel the wolf urging him to attack. James and Peter wouldn't be able to stop him. No... he fought the wolf, held it back, tried to concentrate on James's voice. Violence was not the answer. It was sinking to their level.

"Aw the mudblood's angry," Snape taunted with glee while Nott laughed next to him. "Do you miss Daddy and his dirty blood?"

_Splat!_

"You bathard! You bwoke my nothe!" Snape held his hand over his face.

Sirius was cracking the knuckles of his fist and glaring, "You deserved it you Death Eater scum. If all you're going to use your magic for is torturing innocent people, then you're the one it's wasted on."

"I'll ged you bor dis!" Snape had blood flowing from between his fingers.

"Don't bother going to Pomfrey," Sirius hissed at Snape and casting a cleaning charm on him, getting rid of the incriminating blood. "I'll just follow and tell her what you said. I believe she's a muggle-born."

Snape glared and spun with a dramatic flare in his robes. He and Nott left for the dungeons and Remus fought to contain the wolf until he couldn't even smell them anymore. Snape's blood still flooded his senses and the wolf was angry and hurt. It wanted to avenge his father on any convenient target.

"Remy, shh," James was saying in his ear.

A crowd had formed and Lily joined the Marauders, "I heard what he said Remus. Calm down. He doesn't know a thing about your father. He doesn't know what they did to him."

She took Remus's face between her hands and Remus felt calm pouring into him. He went slack and his head dipped.

"Forget the essay," James said decisively. "We're going back to the Tower."

When they got to their room Remus huddled up on his bed and drew his legs close to his chest. Again, the wolf had almost escaped, almost hurt someone.

"I had to punch him," Sirius misread why Remus was upset. "I didn't want you to lose it Remy. If you had hit him it would have been much worse than a broken nose."

Remus nodded. He fully agreed. If Sirius hadn't hexed or hit Snape the taunting would have brought out the wolf. Snape was playing with fire and he had no idea it could burn him.

"You kept it under control," James looked Remus in the eye, forcing Remus to look at him too. "You didn't let the wolf get out."

It was harder that time but Remus nodded. The wolf was still close to the surface. There wasn't a chance he was leaving the room until he left for the Shack. Poppy no longer went with him, but he still stopped by the hospital wing so she knew he was going.

There was a knock on the door and Peter went to open it.

"Can I come in?" Lily asked.

James's eyes went wide and he went into a flurry of activity, throwing clothes onto his bed and shutting the curtains. It was just too much and Sirius started laughing.

Peter looked at them like they were insane and then turned back to Lily, "Sure."

She entered the room cautiously, as though she might step on something that would explode or transform her into Merlin knew what. Lily wrinkled her nose in distaste at the mess that consisted of almost everything Sirius, James, and Peter owned. She glanced around the room and frowned when she saw the tally sheet that Remus had mentioned in the great hall. The auburn haired prefect went to the oasis of cleanliness around Remus's bed and sat on the edge of his mattress.

"Are you okay Remy?" Lily asked with clear concern.

Remus nodded, "I'll be fine."

"You're not here to give me detention?" Sirius was mystified.

Lily shot him a withering glare, "No, I'm not. I hate how you hex and curse anyone who crosses your path but... Snape deserved it that time... and it stopped Remus from losing control. Now I'm getting out of here before I catch some incurable disease." She hugged Remus tightly and kissed his forehead before making her way back through the mess to the door.

The other three Marauders watched James stare after her as she left. If anything he was in deeper than he was before. Not only was she beautiful and brilliant, but she wasn't as enamored of the rules as they had all thought. She just wanted everything to be fair, and wanted to protect anyone at a disadvantage. James wondered how everyone didn't love her.

Month after month passed in a similar vein. The Marauders stayed at Hogwarts for the holiday, despite the urging of Aaron and Viviane to return to the Manor. Remus did not want to celebrate at all, not on the first Christmas without his father alive.

They did give in for the Easter Holiday and took the longest break that Remus would allow from studying to enjoy themselves free from the pressure of their looming exams.

The week after Easter the summer term started, and with it came appointments for every student with their Head of House for Career Advice. Sirius and James went into their meetings with McGonagall confidently, knowing exactly what they wanted to do upon graduation. They, along with many others it seemed, intended to train as Aurors. Peter looked nervous going in, but wouldn't talk about it.

Remus had a certain sense of fatalism. For him, the appointment was a sham, part of the elaborate web of lies that concealed his condition from the rest of the world. McGonagall might take it seriously though, so Remus talked to Dumbledore first.

"Mr. Lupin, come in," McGonagall held her door open for Alice to leave and Remus to enter.

"Have fun Remus," Alice flashed him a grin. Her blond hair, still customarily worn in braids, flipped over her shoulders as she headed towards the library, most likely to meet Frank. Those two were still inseparable.

Remus smiled back and walked into McGonagall's office, taking the student seat across the desk from her.

"Well Remus...," McGonagall began.

He held up a hand, interrupting her, "You don't need to bother Professor."

She sighed and they just sat for there for a few moments, "If there is anything we can do for you Remus..."

"Professor Dumbledore already has," Remus gave her a little smirk and she lifted an eyebrow. He _was_ a Marauder, and therefore had to enjoy getting a rise out of his Head of House. "I've been working on something for him since this summer. I intend to continue research and spell development for the Order as long as it's needed."

"In that case," McGonagall was smiling, "I expect I will see much of you after you graduate."

James and Sirius did their best to give the rest of the school the impression that they didn't study at all for their exams. So far as the majority of the students at Hogwarts knew, the two Marauders only rarely paid attention in class and coasted along, somehow receiving top grades in the process.

There were subjects where they needed very little study, like James with Transfiguration. He was a natural, and had a tendency to randomly transfigure various objects in their room. If something was missing, chances were James had changed its shape to something else, or it was just at the bottom of one of the piles. Only a series of complicated charms could reveal which objects did not retain their original condition.

Hostilities between Gryffindor and Slytherin died down somewhat with exams looming closer. The students were too caught up in studying to antagonize each other.

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	37. 36: Love in Many Forms

**Chapter Thirty-Six: Love in Many Forms**

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The O.W.L. exams were upon them almost before they knew it. The series of grueling tests, both written and practical, would finish on the day of the full moon. Remus wondered just how Dumbledore had managed that, never doubting that the headmaster had somehow finagled the schedule to keep Remus from missing an exam due to some 'illness'.

Remus's Arithmancy exam was one of the last ones he had to take, and like History of Magic and Ancient Runes it only had a written portion. For those who continued on in the subject the N.E.W.T. exam would have a practical component. Remus breezed through the exam, purposefully taking longer than necessary so as not to prompt the interest of the proctor.

Professor Bones had wished them all luck as they entered the room, catching Remus's eye and smiling. Most likely at the prompting of the headmaster, Edgar Bones had become almost a second father, or uncle of sorts, for Remus in the time they spent working together. It did not escape Remus that he had somewhat attached himself to the man who had taken his father's place in their Arithmancy work.

Remus smiled to himself as another student finished the exam and took it up to the proctor. Frank looked confident as he left the room, head high. The Ravenclaw didn't dare look back and trade looks with any of the other taking the exam. Even the slightest communication could be interpreted as cheating by a harsh enough proctor.

Since another student had handed in their work, Remus figured it was safe to follow his lead. He tapped the parchment, watched it roll into a self-sealing scroll, and carried it up to the proctor. The man ticked off a box next to Remus's name and nodded at him impassively.

"And how was it?" Edgar raised his eyebrows at Remus as he entered the professor's office.

Remus shrugged, "You know it was easy for me. They put some on there that we shouldn't be able to answer. My answers were close but not perfect."

"I wish you didn't have to hide your talent," Edgar gave Remus a look that was almost longing.

Remus just shook his head and sat down. The professor had been told eventually why Remus could not be his apprentice, officially anyway. Edgar had reacted almost better than the Marauders even. He saw Remus's talent and said that his lycanthropy might only help him understand and analyze magic, which was the purpose behind Arithmancy. In almost every way that counted Remus was apprenticed to his professor. Their relationship was very much that of mentor and extremely gifted student.

Piles of parchment soon littered the desk and all regrets were left behind.

"I think we're going the wrong way with this," Remus huffed and leaned back.

Edgar gave him a perplexed look, "Why do you say that?"

"It just...," Remus struggled to put his senses into words, "... it _feels_ wrong. Chaos math wasn't the answer, and neither is bonding. I think we're looking for something... well... simpler."

The professor stood and paced the room as he often did when thinking, and then his eyes lit up, "What do you know of ancient magic Remus?"

"Not much," Remus admitted. "Most of what remains has been banned. My situation is precarious enough without getting into illegal magic."

"Yes," Edgar agreed and smiled sadly. "The banning of most ancient magics was a poor move on the Ministry's part. They saw only the components they thought of as dark and ignored that which is the foundation of all magic we do today."

A book was selected off a shelf, old and tattered, and handed to Remus. He opened to see only Arithmancy symbols. He handled the book almost reverently, as if it was a sacred object.

Edgar continued, "There you will find the bases of most magic you see every day, along with much magic that will get you a heavy fine or short stay in Azkaban if you practice it and the Ministry finds out. I am starting to think that what we are attempting to accomplish cannot be done in a way that the Ministry will find acceptable."

Remus bit his lower lip and nodded. Such a powerful protection spell, and connecting it to a person's very soul, was probably going to be dark to some extent. As a dark creature, Remus felt the presence of dark magic, and the occasional pull to study it, and also knew that the Ministry's definition of dark was not fully accurate, based on power and fear rather than the actual magic involved. He also understood the danger every time he felt the wolf stirring inside him.

The Floo flared bright green and Remus looked up as Breanne Bones's face spun into view, "Are you coming for dinner tonight Edgar?" She then added a belated, "Hello Remus."

"Hello Breanne," Remus smiled. He had seen her face many times in the fire now, but not actually met her in person.

Remus's professor and research partner jumped to get into view and grinned at his wife, "Yes dear. I was about to suggest we finish up for the day."

"Then I suggest you do so," Breanne smiled in a way that said Edgar had better finish up and get home quickly. "Why don't you bring Remus along with you tonight?"

"Oh I couldn't impose...," Remus immediately objected.

"Nonsense," Edgar waved away Remus's reservations. "You're legally an adult and may leave Hogwarts with a professor accompanying you. That badge will not be in jeopardy." Edgar flicked Remus's prefect badge and laughed.

The werewolf felt a flush rising on his face and nodded his consent.

"Very well," Breanne looked smug. "I'll be expecting you both shortly."

Her head disappeared from the fire and Edgar laughed, "She's been trying to get you over for months now Remus. Don't worry about anything. She knows all about you."

"All?" Remus almost squeaked the word in his nervousness and felt a bit like Wormtail.

Edgar gave him a serious look and put a hand on his shoulder, "The day will come Remus when your secret will not be so secret. You may find that there are many out there who will surprise you in their unwavering support. You have friends Remus, true friends who would follow you to hell and back if you asked it of them."

"Thank you," Remus didn't fully believe the man, but knew deep inside that his pack would always be there for him. He could live with the rest of the world despising him so long as he had his pack.

They used the Floo network to travel to the Bones house, and Remus would have to Floo back to the headmaster's office, as there was no other fireplace at Hogwarts that accepted incoming travelers. It was password and magical signature protected. Edgar had sent a note to the headmaster before they left so that Remus would have no trouble getting through.

"Daddy!" A very small blur collided with Edgar, followed by a little girl that was just getting the hang of walking. The blur became another little girl and pointed at Remus, "Who that?"

Edgar laughed brightly and scooped up the toddler, "This is Remus, one of my students. Remus, this is Maggie," he indicated the little girl in his arms, "and Jaime," he indicated the other little girl that was clinging to her father's leg.

"Hi!" The older little girl, Jaime, waved.

This was only the second child that Remus had any experience with and he knelt down to get closer to her level. He held out his hand, "Hello Jaime."

She giggled and shook his hand, then ran off, "Mummy! Daddy bwought a fend home!"

"You've been Jaime-approved," Edgar continued to smile brightly. His eyes were brighter than normal, lit with an inner-fire in the presence of his children.

Remus felt a short twinge of sadness and jealousy. It was clear from just looking at the family what Edgar was fighting for. He wanted a world where his children could grow up without the threat of darkness hanging over them. Remus would never have a family, children to fight for. His pack was well prepared to fight for themselves, though he would go to any lengths to protect them.

He realized his motivation was mostly revenge, revenge for his father. He did want the world to be safe. He wanted to fight the darkness that threatened them, possibly because he couldn't fight his own darkness. Mostly though, he was motivated by revenge, pure revenge.

A little hand took Remus's and led him into the dining room. Edgar's older daughter had returned from wherever Breanne was.

"Sit here!" Jaime ordered, rocking a chair on its legs as she tried to pull it out for Remus.

Remus smiled at her and took the chair, then helped her into her booster seat. He listened to the little girl tell him all about her day. She had painted and played with a friend of hers from the village. Jaime had helped her mother with Maggie and was quiet when the baby was sleeping.

"That's enough Jaime," Breanne took her own seat. "It's time to eat."

Jaime quieted instantly and Remus saw that the wide smile was still plastered on Edgar's face. The family all bowed their heads and Remus followed suit. When his mother still lived with them they had said grace before meals, but that practice had stopped when she left. The Bones family, he discovered, was not particularly religious, but they gave thanks to an unnamed entity or deity, or perhaps to nothing specific at all, for their blessings.

The food was not up to Hogwarts standards, but was still good. The family did not have a house elf, so Breanne had made the entire meal while watching after both of her children. That in itself was an accomplishment. Remus ate with a healthy appetite and impeccable manners. Jaime questioned him about Hogwarts at length during the meal and he answered her questions as well as he could without giving her too many ideas.

When Remus got back to Hogwarts he updated the headmaster on the progress of their work, though he was hesitant to mention that both he and Edgar thought the ward they were striving towards was probably dark in nature. If the headmaster disapproved then the spell might never be developed. If they went ahead without bringing that aspect of the work to the headmaster's attention, then the end result might justify the means.

He could tell that Dumbledore knew there was something Remus was leaving out of his report, but Remus always left out the details. The headmaster did not have the time to be apprised of each small step, especially when so much of it was discarded whenever they hit a block.

The room was quiet, his friends probably asleep in anticipation of their last day of exams. The Defense Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration exams were the next day, and Peter was the only one of them who had any cause to be nervous. With all their private dueling practice the Marauders were almost certain to ace the test. Remus had no doubt that James and Sirius eventually ordered Pete to go to sleep, as a sleep deprived Peter was even more forgetful and nervous than one that had a full night's rest.

Remus breathed in the scents of the room. He could smell Peter's anxiety even while the smaller boy slept. Sirius was snoring lightly, just enough for Remus to hear so the others would never notice. James... James was still awake. His breathing was deeper than that, slower, when he slept. Remus did his best to move quietly so as not to alert James of his presence.

It had taken years, but Remus now slept in boxer shorts only, just like his friends did. His self-consciousness had kept him from displaying his scars like that, the constant reminder to them of what he was. Remus crawled into bed and sat back against his headboard, his covers pulled up over his lap. Even in June it was cool at night at Hogwarts.

He wasn't going to be able to sleep for a while yet. There were too many thoughts spinning around in his head. He kept going back to the evening he spent with the Bones family, nice people who loved each other deeply. The children were delightful, so happy to see their father.

What he envied most was the relationship between Edgar and Breanne. Remus didn't remember his parents ever interacting with each other in a loving way. Viviane and Aaron clearly loved each other, but they didn't send smoldering glances into the others' eyes. They didn't smile knowingly, with the sharing of something that Remus would never know.

Edgar and Breanne had insisted that he stay and talk with them after the children had been put to bed, and Remus had found that Breanne was just as intelligent and creative as her husband. He had finally pointed out that it was nearing curfew at Hogwarts and he should probably leave when he smelled the arousal in the air.

Remus had taken the lemon drops from the headmaster, had some tea, and talked with him at length. Even when he was done with Order business, Dumbledore had wanted to check on how Remus was doing academically and socially. He never mentioned Simeon, but Remus knew it was on the headmaster's mind. It had been at least an hour past curfew when he left and Remus couldn't get out of that office quickly enough.

There were footsteps in the room and Remus hoped it was just one of his friends making their way to the bathroom or something similar. Luck was not with him it seemed, and his curtains parted for James to climb up to sit next to him.

"What's wrong?" James nudged him lightly.

Remus closed his eyes and laughed bitterly. He cast a silencing spell on his curtains, not wanting to wake their friends, "I'm going to die a virgin, you know."

"Not necessarily...," James was clearly tense. With the full moon the next night there was no telling how Remus's mood would play out.

"That's right," Remus snorted, "because I'm sure to find someone who's willing to go to Azkaban just to be with me, or another 'dark creature' who hasn't joined You-Know-Who."

James shifted on the bed, never able to sit still and only worse with the tension, "You can't be the only one who won't join _Him_."

"Maybe, but I'm sure we're a rare species within a rare species," Remus shook his head.

"Where were you tonight?" James tried to change the conversation, not knowing he was only making it worse.

Remus bit his lower lip, "Professor Bones invited me to his house for dinner. He has two little girls James, and they were so happy to see him. Even if I someday find someone to have a relationship with I'll never..."

He choked back a sob. He just couldn't say it. His whole life, even since the bite, he had known he wouldn't have a family, wouldn't even get married, but when he was younger he didn't know what a hardship that was.

Arms wrapped around Remus and he leaned against his friend, his pack. James's hands stroked his skin soothingly, ignoring the scars they brushed over. It was a type of contact Remus had never experienced before. Any other time he had hugged his friends they had all been fully clothed, or they were all piled together as a pack.

James kissed his cheek and Remus smelled a scent he never expected from his friend. He knew that James had slept with more people, both male and female, than Remus wanted to count, but never thought James would even consider him. His body reacted in kind, as was only natural.

"If people can't look past what you are to see who you are, then they're not worth your time," James said earnestly. Remus wished it was that simple.

He extricated himself from his friend's embrace before James did something he would regret, "I think you should go to bed."

"Remy," James cupped his cheek and stared into his eyes. "Every time I meet someone, whoever it is that night, it's empty, hollow. It never means anything, and from what I was told it's supposed to mean everything."

Remus forcibly had to stop himself from running. He would let James finish talking and then send his friend back to his own bed.

"You're pack Remy," James said firmly. "I would die for you. I've already risked Azkaban for you. Just once Remy, Moony, let it mean something. Let me give you this."

His will was crumbling, and Remus leaned in towards his friend. Their lips met and pressed together, and soon he was swept away in the passion of intertwining tongues, hands on smooth skin. Remus felt a growl deep within and saw hazel eyes spark with lust. The wolf was coming forward, urging Remus on, and he was thankful for the silencing spells he cast earlier. He was in no state to remember such spells.

Pain flared and subsided to give way to immense pleasure. A small part of Remus's mind was objecting the entire time, asking him what he thought he was doing, risking his friend in this way. Yet another part reminded him that James knew very well what the penalty was if this was ever discovered.

Both inner voices were drowned out by his cries and moans, and those that came from James. They both recovered quickly, Remus due to his lycanthropy and James to being James. Remus felt the wolf stir and the beast lurking inside him took control.

"Merlin Remy," James breathed heavily, his hair damp and his lips swollen, "you're hung like a centaur." A hand stroked the mentioned appendage and guided it into place.

Remus grinned, feral, his slightly lengthened canines showing, his eyes no doubt glowing amber. James's breath sped up and Remus gripped his friend's hips almost certainly hard enough to bruise. James was on his hands and knees, his head twisted around to look back at Remus, who licked his lips and leaned down to nip at smooth pale skin, skin that was never exposed to the sun.

"Please Moony," James pleaded, pushing back against Remus.

A low rumble from Remus's throat answered as he felt need overwhelm him. He pushed forward as James pressed back and felt a tight tantalizing resistance before he slid in.

The sensation was like nothing he had ever imagined, and his brain was clouded in his efforts to maintain some semblance of control. James moaned and pushed back though and Remus lost all will. He moved quickly and harshly, abandoning any desire for control at James's cry for, "More! Harder!"

It was the closest Remus could come to howling in human form, and it was repeated several times that night. He wondered what possessed James to offer this, to risk Azkaban for one night of pleasure with Remus when he could have almost anyone he wanted, any time he wanted them. Remus would probably never know. Once the wolf backed down he would never gather the courage to ask. He only knew that his life had changed and would never be the same. His last sliver of childhood was gone.

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	38. 37: Betrayal

**Chapter Thirty-Seven: Betrayal**

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Remus snorted. This exam was a laugh. Of course, he couldn't really put down what he thought when he read question number ten regarding werewolf identification. Beyond the flippant answer he was tempted to give – his name is Remus Lupin, he's wearing my clothes, he's sitting in my seat, etc. – he couldn't describe how werewolves all had a particular scent that was different from regular people or full wolves. He could talk about the odd gleam in the eyes, the aversion to silver, the slightly lengthened canine teeth, the myriad of scars all over the body, then in wolf form the bushy tail, and a dozen other small things.

The full moon was that night, and it was his second to last O.W.L. exam, with Transfiguration that afternoon. He would spend the day after in the hospital wing recovering and then it was back onto the Hogwarts Express for the trip to London and another summer surrounded by piles of parchment. He had no doubt that Viviane would continue her habit of stopping by Lupin Cottage once a day to make sure Remus was eating and sleeping.

It felt strange having a mother. The memories he had of his mother acting how he thought a mother should act were vague and distant. Remus had only scattered recollections of the year following the bite. He knew he had been near death for several months, and that the wolf had tried to take control more than once. There were many werewolves that could never integrate into society. They were feral, living in human bodies with animal instincts. Supposedly there were colonies deep in the darkest forests where packs of those feral nonhumans lived together like wolf packs, but Remus did not know for sure.

Remus shook his head and checked over his exam. He corrected some spelling and grammatical errors and added a bit to the earlier questions. Those were always the shortest answers for him, as he had to make himself be brief so he had time to answer all the questions. Now he had time to expound on some of the questions.

Only a few moments before Flitwick, apparently a Ministry certified proctor, announced that the time was almost up Remus tapped his exam and it rolled itself into a scroll and sealed itself. Only a Ministry grader would be able to open it once that seal was complete.

James and Sirius were as confident and boisterous as always after an exam and the Marauders left the hall in high spirits, headed for their favorite beech tree on the grounds and some fresh air and sunshine before lunch and then the Transfiguration exam. Remus pulled out his book and attempted to study, despite the whining from Padfoot, antics from Prongs, and annoying adulation from Wormtail. Remus buried his nose in his book and tried to ignore his friends no matter what they were doing. He really hated when they got like that.

Remus did his best not to look at James, not to think of the night before. He felt heat blossoming in his chest and starting to spread up towards his face whenever his mind drifted back to the hours they had spent in his bed exploring each other. Remus could not believe how stupid he had been, but at the same time he was thankful for the experience. It sounded cliché and ridiculous, but he felt different, older somehow.

The only way he could successfully avoid the wolf reacting to James's presence was to distance himself somewhat from all of his friends. They were accustomed to this, to Remus withdrawing for a time, especially since the death of his father.

James hadn't really nicked the snitch like he told his friends, and they knew it. Madame Hooch would come down on him like a bloody dragon if he dared to steal from her precious supply shed. The snitch was the practice one he used at home, and his Uncle Clive had owled it to him only the day before. James needed something to bleed off all his excess energy, especially as he was only meeting a few people after hours now. Two of the three would graduate that year anyway, and he was planning not to see the third at all next term.

His eyes kept roaming to the lake, to Lily Evans. She still glared at him and scolded him whenever they spoke. James didn't know why but he was utterly fascinated with her, drawn to her. He wanted her, and not just for a night or two. He wanted the whole romance, flowers and chocolate thing, the talking late into the night about nothing in particular thing, the holding hands and cuddling by the fire thing.

Lily wanted nothing to do with him though. He couldn't stop himself from behaving like a total and utter prat whenever he was near her. It worked on all the other girls, messing up his hair and strutting around like he owned the school, hexing anyone who annoyed him, but Lily just frowned at him or scolded him.

His peripheral vision caught sight of Remus, gentle, sensitive Remus, who had turned out to be absolutely wild in bed. James had the finger shaped bruises on his hips to prove it, and the ache he hadn't felt in years. That morning he had actually needed healing charms in order to walk normally. He felt a deeper sense of guilt than anything he had ever felt before.

The wolf was especially close to the surface near the time when the moon was full and Remus's control was fragile. James knew that and he had still tempted his friend, taken advantage of him. If anyone found out it wouldn't be James who got in trouble, despite the reputation he had. It would be Remus who would face the Wizengamot.

James would just have to make sure that no one ever discovered what happened the night before. After all, rumor wasn't enough to convict his friend. The only way Remus would get in trouble was if James blabbed, and he was determined not to. That also meant he would never mention it to Remus and not change the way he treated his friend. If he could though, he would thank Remus. The night before had been hands down the best sex he had ever had.

He didn't know what got into him when he started hexing Snape. Well, he did to some extent. James kept glancing over towards the lake, hoping that Lily wouldn't notice. She was bound to disapprove, and rather vocally. He really did want to see what Snape hid under those voluminous robes he always wore. He never expected the Slytherin to be so skinny. It was like he hid something incredibly fragile behind all that blustering and snideness.

It never stopped. James did his best to push away those feelings that had started at the beginning of the year. He had no idea what it was about Snape that his body wanted. Maybe he was a closet masochist or something. He wanted a boy who would rather hex him than look at him and a girl that was constantly berating him for his immature behavior and had slept with a werewolf.

By the time lunch came James was in a foul mood. In an attempt to hide that he put his best front forwards and acted even more arrogant than usual. He flirted like crazy with nearly everyone who crossed his path, even Snape. That had left the Slytherin flustered and speechless and James loved it. His mood began to pick up after that and Sirius had been laughing hysterically. Sometime after that James had lost track of the other Marauders and didn't see them again until the Transfiguration exam.

Remus stopped him before walking in, "You can't go in like that Prongs!"

"Hm?" James had no idea what Remus was talking. The werewolf gave him an exasperated look, aimed his wand at him, and spouted off several words in Latin that James didn't recognize.

There was a tingling in his cheek and James flushed, "Whoops, forgot about that. Thanks Moony."

Remus rolled his eyes and James grinned. Maybe nothing had changed between them and they could go on like normal after all. He clapped a hand on Remus's back and they went in to the exam together.

Transfiguration had always been his best subject. James just had a natural talent for the field, and he was sure he aced the exam. Asa Roberts, that annoying kid that made beater, cornered Sirius afterwards for some tips to use to practice over the summer. Sirius rolled his eyes but told his friends he would meet them for dinner and walked away with Roberts trailing behind him and firing questions faster than most Aurors could fire curses.

The fifth year students were all celebrating at dinner, their exams over and done with. They would have no homework that summer, as they didn't know what classes they would be continuing in. The first large hurdle towards becoming fully qualified witches and wizards was behind them.

Remus slipped away without anyone but the Marauders noticing. Sirius and Peter were already up in their room and James went up to get ready for another night under the full moon. The rest of Gryffindor would just think they were plotting something in their room and no one would get anywhere near them.

"So I told him, and Snivellous is in for it," Sirius had a wicked grin on his face and Peter was laughing so hard tears were streaming down his face.

"You told him what?" James questioned as he walked in.

Sirius jumped and then relaxed, "Oh it's just you Prongs."

"Love you too Paddy," James snorted. "What did you tell Snivelly?"

"He's always snooping around and sticking his abnormally large nose into our business. I figured we could scare him away for good," Sirius's face was triumphant, as if he had come up with the perfect solution.

James felt his face pale, "What did you tell him?"

Sirius's face fell and he looked uncertain, "Well I didn't tell him... he was eavesdropping... I just told Roberts about the Whomping Willow and the tunnel... but never to use it at night."

His jaw dropped and James blinked, trying to convince himself this wasn't happening. Sirius couldn't possibly be that stupid and thoughtless. But the expression on his friend's face was more than enough to convince him that he was telling the truth.

"You idiot!" James swore at his best friend and turned to Peter, "And you're no better, laughing like this is some grand joke. Do you have any idea...? Did you even think...?" Both faces were crestfallen but nowhere near as horrified as they should be. James scowled, "You clearly didn't. Don't even think of leaving this room tonight."

He stormed out of the room and closed the door with his wand, locking it with every spell he knew that could be used for that purpose. Once that was done he took off at a run. He ignored the revelers in the common room and noted as he darted through corridors and secret passages that the sun was setting. He sped up, not willing to think of what might happen if he was too late.

Snape was already in the Shack by the time James got there and from the sounds in the 'transformation room', as the Marauders had dubbed it, Remus was in full wolf mode.

"Snape run!" James yelled, nearly in a panic. "Get out of here!"

Snape sneered at the Gryffindor and drew his wand, "Getting cold feet Potter? Is this prank really that good?"

"For Merlin's sake, it's not some stupid prank!" James insisted, his wand still not drawn, his hands held out so Snape could see that. "You have no idea what's going on here!"

"I guess I'll just have to find out for myself," Snape said calmly. He reached out for the door and James heard growls on the other side. Moony probably smelled them and would be ready to attack.

"NO!" James pulled back at Snape but Snape flung him off.

James's back and head hit the wall with a 'thud' and he made his decision in a split second. He transformed into Prongs and leaped past Snape when the door opened, towards the snarling Moony. There was a loud crack as their skulls met.

Prongs kicked with his front legs, swung his antlers, and finally managed to force the werewolf into the mess of a bedroom. His antlers had connected with soft wolf flesh at one point and he could smell blood. With a kick of his hind legs Prongs shut the door as he held the werewolf at bay and Snape was safe.

The fight continued for a short time but Prongs came out victorious with no injuries. He was bigger and stronger than the wolf and had a human mind. Moony collapsed on the floor of the bedroom, breathing heavily, gashes on his chest and face sticky with congealing blood.

James didn't know how he managed to get out of the room in his stag form but he did. He applied the wards that Remus must have forgotten that night, or Snape may have dismantled them, and sat down in the tunnel just below the trapdoor to keep watch in case Roberts got the bright idea of using his newfound knowledge despite Sirius's admonishment.

He clenched his teeth and fought against the tears that wanted to stream down his face. Moony was hurt, and there was nothing James could do until morning. He was equal parts pain and rage. There was no excuse for what Sirius had done. Had his fellow Marauder just become complacent after spending so many full moons with a werewolf, or had he actually tried to kill Snape?

All the pranks they played, the hexing people in corridors, it was all being cast in a different light. James spent the night thinking over the past five years at Hogwarts, analyzing his own behavior. Was what he did cruel? Did he even approach the line that Sirius had crossed that night?

A hand brushed over his cheek where Snape had cursed him that morning, though it seemed like years ago. They all had only two more years left at Hogwarts and the war raging outside the protected sphere of the school seemed more real than ever before. Someday it wouldn't be childish curses aimed his way, but killing curses and torture curses... and he would be expected to fire the same back at his opponents.

When daylight was approaching James reentered the Shack. The instant the howls and screams stopped James entered the room and thankfully found Remus unconscious.

"I'm sorry Moony, I'm so sorry. I promised I would, but I'm so sorry," James finally felt tears fall as he healed the injuries he had caused. Madame Pomfrey couldn't see them. He left the room, applied the wards again, and went down to the tunnel. He had just settled in when Pomfrey came through the opening under the Willow.

"James Potter what are you doing here?" the stern woman demanded, taking in his tear streaked face and reddened eyes.

James bit his lip, "One of the younger kids found out about the tunnel. I had to make sure no one went through."

"You should have gone to a professor," Pomfrey frowned at him.

"I didn't want to risk it," James protested desperately. "What if the idiot got down here while I was looking for someone?"

Her face softened and she waved her wand, clearing away the signs of his long night from his face, "Everything is safe now. Go find your Head of House and let her know."

James nodded and went back towards the castle. He started towards McGonagall's office, his eyes tearing again, but changed his mind and stood before the gargoyle guarding the headmaster's office. He was about to break Code 14 and probably some others as well, but this was well beyond a prank.

James felt at that moment that Sirius deserved to be expelled for what he did. If Snape had been hurt Remus would be as good as dead. The Ministry would either send him to Azkaban forever or execute him. Dumbledore would be in major trouble for letting it happen, possibly even winding up in Azkaban himself.

While he was gathering himself he didn't notice the gargoyle move aside. He didn't notice Dumbledore standing in front of him until the headmaster cleared his throat. The headmaster had no twinkle in his eyes and he looked as if he too had been awake all night.

"Uncle Albus?" James looked at the man and felt like he was six years old again, going to his 'uncle' after he had skinned his knee while the man was babysitting for him. James hadn't used that old means of address for the headmaster since he had started at Hogwarts.

Dumbledore looked more concerned than James had ever seen him, "James?"

James felt his eyes burn as tears started again, "I need to talk to you."

Arms wrapped around him and James leaned into the hug gratefully. His shoulders shook and his breath hitched. When he had calmed down somewhat Dumbledore led him up to his office and gave him a cup of tea and a lemon drop, his cure-all for any injury or sickness.

"Sirius did something really stupid," James started, and the story of the whole night spilled out, with the exception of a few details. He didn't tell his 'uncle' that he and his friends were illegal animagi. He lied and said that he had used transfiguration to create the stag that kept the werewolf busy so Snape could get away.

When he had finished he saw pain in the headmaster's eyes. The man stood and walked over to his fireplace. He threw in some Floo powder and called first Madam Pomfrey to check on Remus's condition, relief evident on his face when she reported that his injuries were bad, but not out of the ordinary for him. She assessed that the stress of the exams had caught up with him.

McGonagall received a call next and was instructed to send Sirius up to the headmaster's office immediately. Spectre was next and Dumbledore told her to send Snape. James felt cold anger replace his anguish as he thought of seeing Sirius. He remembered the gashes he had healed and grit his teeth.

The meeting was tense and James knew that Sirius was trying to catch his eye the whole time, but James refused to look at him. He was a little surprised that Snape didn't tell Dumbledore the complete truth. He didn't tell the headmaster that James was an animagus.

James was furious. He dragged Sirius to the hospital wing and they met up with Peter, who was looking very concerned and wary. As they walked in they got a harsh look from Pomfrey, who must have just talked to the headmaster. She pressed a vial into James's hand.

"Calming potion if he needs it," Pomfrey's voice was taught. "He knows something was wrong last night but he can't remember what happened."

James nodded and prodded a very reluctant Sirius forward with his wand. Sirius and Peter hung back when they got in the private room and Remus looked at the three of them in confusion. James could almost see the connections forming in his friend's quick mind. Unnaturally bright golden eyes flicked from Marauder to Marauder before resting with a pained look on Sirius.

"What did you do Padfoot?" Remus's voice was raw, almost a whisper, but it cut right through to James's heart.

Sirius looked near tears but James had no sympathy for him. He might have acted on a whim, James prayed he had, but that didn't excuse anything. In a shaky voice Sirius confessed and James filled in the details that the others didn't know. He sat next to Remus and reached to touch a partially healed cut on his face.

"I'm sorry Moony," James felt so many emotions he thought he would burst. He was angry at Sirius, guilty for not just stunning Snape and dragging him away, guilty for hurting Remus, angry at Peter for not standing up to Sirius, hurt that Remus looked like his world had just ended.

Remus flinched away from the touch, "Not your fault. I made you promise." The werewolf closed his eyes and adjusted his position. It looked so painful, like he had sprained every muscle in his body. Then Remus opened his eyes again, but he wouldn't look anywhere near Sirius, "Go, all of you."

James nodded and felt more than saw the others follow him down to breakfast. He was furious again and quickened his pace, wishing that Sirius and Peter would just go to the kitchens or something and leave him alone. He sat down at Gryffindor's table and tensed when Peter and Sirius sat with him. The table was full though and there was nowhere else for them.

The food tasted like sawdust, all of it. James couldn't stomach a single mouthful. He was more exhausted than he had ever been after a full moon and wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for days.

"James... Prongs...," Sirius's voice brought James out of his thoughts and he saw that eyes were watching the three of them from all over the hall.

He was probably leaking magic energy all over the place with how angry he felt. James glared at the boy he had considered his best friend for five years. He wanted to curse Sirius so hard his ancestors a hundred generations back would feel it. For that reason he didn't dare take out his wand, knowing he could very well permanently injure Sirius.

Instead he let his fist fly and punched Sirius square on the jaw before stalking out of the hall, the satisfying crack much louder than he would have thought. The silence behind him was evidence that the whole hall had seen, but no one chased after him. They probably didn't want to get anywhere near them if he was angry enough to hit his best friend.

Remus wasn't on the train home. His trunk disappeared from their room during the night, and James would have been afraid that Dumbledore had been forced to expel him if not for the note that the headmaster sent him telling him otherwise.

James was not looking forward to the summer for the first time in his life.

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	39. 38: Feeling So All Alone

**Chapter Thirty-Eight: Feeling So All Alone**

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Something was wrong. As Remus woke up he could feel it, and what was more, he felt like his whole body had been bludgeoned for hours. He hadn't felt like that after a full moon since his friends had started to accompany him into the forest. They must not have been there the night before, but he couldn't imagine what would keep them away.

Poppy fussed over him like normal, "Hm. These weren't here last month. What did you do to yourself?"

"Wha...?" Remus could only manage that much and Poppy poured a vial of pain reliever into his mouth which made his throat feel much better.

"You have some cuts that had already been partially healed," Poppy explained, but didn't question him further. Remus was confused. He couldn't remember getting hurt and trying to heal it himself.

He hadn't told anyone, but as the months had passed that year he had grown more and more aware of what happened with each full moon. He had scattered memories of scents and sounds, of certain trees and other creatures they encountered. His memories were nowhere near complete and he was not cognizant at all while he was in wolf form, but the memories, however hazy, were there.

Last night though... all he could remember... Remus sat up quickly and Poppy started. His breathing was quicker and he felt a sweat break out. He remembered smelling human. Only the sure knowledge that the only blood he could taste was his own kept him from spiraling into a total panic.

"Remus," Poppy's voice was soothing but Remus couldn't concentrate. What had happened? Had one of them forgotten to transform? Was one of them hurt?

He was hyperventilating he knew, in a detached sort of way. His stomach was twisting and his mouth was dry. He was staring, but not seeing. He heard his name spoken over and over but couldn't react.

Another potion calmed him and his mind returned to full function, slamming him back to reality. If one of his friends was hurt someone would tell him, but only if he was calm enough to take the news.

Remus heard the fireplace flare up and Dumbledore's voice calling for Poppy. She left him and there was a tingle of magic before the voices silenced completely, a silencing spell. Remus waited, on edge. Normally he would be tired, needing to sleep all day if possible, but he couldn't fall asleep just then if he wanted to, no matter how much his body needed it.

Fear... guilt... anger... sadness... confusion... his nose prickled with the scents the emotions gave off. He could smell all three of his packmates and part of him calmed further with their presence. They all smelled healthy, though tired. He could hear them approaching. Peter's usual timid step... James's quick pace when he was irritated, the anger was him... and Sirius was shuffling his feet like he had just been reprimanded.

What was going on?

Their emotions were written all over their faces and it took Remus much less time to come to his conclusions than it took him to voice his suspicions.

"What did you do Padfoot?"

Remus closed his eyes partway through the telling. His heart had plummeted into his stomach and he couldn't look at any of them. He knew it had been a mistake, knew they shouldn't have started spending the full moon with him. He had almost killed someone, or worse created another monster like himself.

He sent them away, couldn't bear to have them there, couldn't stand the smell of guilt from all three of them, the fear pouring off of Peter and Sirius though for entirely different reasons he was sure. He felt a little bad about sending James away, the one who had stopped anything irreversible from happening, but he couldn't deal with any of it just then.

Betrayal, disgust, anger, pain, all of it crowded his soul and he felt like throwing up. Remus wanted to rage, to cry, to turn back time and stop it all from happening. How could Sirius have even thought of doing what he did? Remus knew his most spontaneous packmate often didn't think before he acted, but this was beyond his comprehension.

Remus gladly let unconsciousness sweep him away once he was sure his pack was gone.

When he woke later that day Albus Dumbledore was sitting by his bed, his face not bothering to hide the pain and sadness that Remus could smell.

"Am I expelled?" Remus questioned tonelessly. The various solutions to the problems the headmaster faced after the mess of the night before had all been immediately apparent to Remus, even as Sirius had been talking. One of the easiest ones Remus had seen was to expel Remus so he couldn't ever be a danger to other students again.

"No Remus," Dumbledore looked confused, as though the thought had never entered his mind. Remus realized with a shock that it never had. "I would never punish you for the mistakes of others."

"I told them where I transform," Remus protested.

Dumbledore shook his head, "They would have found out eventually regardless. James has always been more curious than is good for him, and Mr. Black is no different in that respect."

Remus nodded reluctantly. He had to admit that they would have found out.

"Then why are you here?" Remus questioned the headmaster.

There was a deep sigh, "I considered putting this off, but I did not want you to find out some other way. I also know that you would be angry with me for not telling you sooner if I delayed."

"There's more?" Remus felt his chest constrict. Had he hurt someone else the night before? Was that why his friends were so guilty?

Another calming potion... Remus wondered if it was possible to overdose on them.

"There was a Death Eater attack last night on the homes of several Order members," Dumbledore's voice was soothing but the man was obviously upset. "Some of them were able to escape and notify me, and others were not. I am sorry Remus. Edgar and his wife and daughters are dead."

Remus shook his head, his lips trembling, "No. I was just there. I just met the girls. Jaime hugged me goodnight and kissed my cheek. Breanne asked me to carry Maggie upstairs. They were fine!"

"I am sorry," Dumbledore's old and wrinkled hand pressed down on Remus's smooth unmarred hand that was gripping his sheet and blanket compulsively.

The scream that needed to come out was trapped in his throat. It was too much, all of it. Sirius had betrayed him. He almost killed Snape. Edgar was dead... Breanne... the little girls... only babies still. Remus felt his head shake again and heard Dumbledore call for Poppy.

"Shh," Poppy sat next to him on the bed and hugged him, rocking him like a mother would a small child.

Remus fought and mastered his emotions. He had been doing it all his life and he would continue to do so until he died. His father's death had not broken him and this turn of events surely would not succeed where that had failed.

"I'll be okay," Remus heard his own voice as if it was far away. It sounded hollow.

"Do you need anything?" Poppy asked him gently. Remus shook his head. She held a vial to his lips and ordered him to drink. He recognized the taste of a sleeping draught.

Dumbledore's face was a little fuzzy, "Do you want to ride the Express home or Floo from my office?"

"Floo," the word was drawn out as the sleeping potion took effect and Remus sank into oblivion once more.

"I cannot let you in," Poppy's voice was stern yet tense.

"My nephew is concerned about Remus," a vaguely familiar voice replied. "I will not use force if I do not have to, but Remus is family."

"You will wait here," Poppy demanded. She spoke under her breath as she approached Remus's room, "I don't even know how he got in."

"He can hear every word," Remus said tightly as she walked in.

Poppy started and looked at him in surprise, "I forgot." She bustled towards him and checked his vitals, "How are you feeling?"

Remus's laugh was rough and bitter, and there was just a twinge of hysteria in it. Did she really need to ask? In a flash his door opened again and Joseph crossed the room with preternatural speed. He slapped Remus lightly and the laugh stopped, then he gathered Remus into his arms.

"Leave us Poppy," Joseph ordered the nurse. There was something strange in his voice, a quality Remus had never heard from anyone.

A dazed look crossed her face and Remus saw her stand and walk away as if she was moving through molasses.

"Child," Joseph looked into his eyes and smoothed his hair back, "what has happened to you?"

A shuddering breath... momentary tightness in his chest... and Remus cast a silencing charm on the room. He told Joseph everything. He told the vampire what his pack had done for him, what Sirius had done. He told him about Edgar Bones, about their work for the Order, about the deaths. He told him about what he had done with James.

The castle was almost entirely empty, the students having left that morning. Davey must have told Joseph as soon as he got home. Remus suspected that Joseph had managed to enter the castle and its grounds because he meant no harm to any of the inhabitants. Dumbledore had to know the vampire was there, and he also must have known the connection between Remus and Joseph.

Joseph hugged Remus firmly, his vampire strength making it the most fulfilling hug Remus had every received from any of his parental substitutes.

"I would kill that Black brat if I could," Joseph snarled once Remus was done.

Remus's eyes widened, "Don't... please."

Joseph lifted his eyebrows, "And why shouldn't I?"

"He doesn't deserve to die," Remus felt his body begin to shake a little. He was disgusted with himself for defending Sirius just then. "Aaron and Viviane were told. I'm sure they'll punish him."

Joseph nodded and a sadistic smile twisted his lips, "Fear not child. I could not hurt him if I wanted to. I cannot hurt any of your pack."

Remus went almost entirely limp and leaned against the vampire. He wanted to go home where he could be alone and bury himself in numbers until he forgot the rest of the world existed. Cold hard hands held him and comforted him. The comfortable silence stretched into an immeasurable length of time. Neither of them moved and Remus for once was glad that vampires had no scent, no heartbeat, no breathing. His senses were not flooded. His mind was able to rest.

"You have given Poppy quite a scare," Dumbledore's voice spoke from the doorway.

Remus looked up and saw Joseph glaring at the headmaster, "My child needed me."

Though he had accepted Joseph inviting him into the family, he hadn't fully understood how much that meant to the vampire. All the members of his fellow 'dark creature's family were his children. He protected all of them.

Dumbledore bowed his head briefly, respectfully, "You are welcome here when your children need you, though I ask that you see me first so I might warn my staff."

Joseph smiled again, a small mischievous smile, and Remus guessed that the vampire enjoyed scaring people, "Of course Albus."

"Can I offer you anything?" Dumbledore asked, and Remus wondered if the house elves would actually bring a goblet of blood for the vampire.

"I have already hunted this evening," Joseph replied evenly.

Dumbledore did not react to the open confession of a recent murder, or at least injury, and Remus's already considerable respect for the man rose dramatically. It was in Joseph's nature to hunt for blood, just as lions hunted gazelles, as thestrals ate raw meat. The headmaster just calmly held out a lollipop... by the smell and color a Blood Lollipop from Honeydukes.

Joseph accepted it with a light laugh and unwrapped it before sticking it in his mouth. He appeared to enjoy it as much as the headmaster enjoyed his lemon drops.

Dumbledore turned back to Remus, "Poppy has cleared you to leave and you may do so at any time. Your trunk is packed and is here for you. Aaron will be stopping in to see you in a week or so, and will escort you to the memorial for the Bones family."

The lighthearted atmosphere in the room faded and Remus nodded. Joseph stood and dropped the completely cleaned stick into a trashcan. Remus stood as well and exchanged his Poppy issued pajamas for muggle clothes with a long wave of his wand and the appropriate spoken words.

"Would you like company for the rest of the night?" Joseph asked him, a hand on his shoulder. Remus hesitated, and nodded. "I will meet you at your cottage then. I have a great dislike for the Floo Network."

Dumbledore promised to see him at the memorial and throughout the summer, and walked with Remus to his office. The castle felt oddly empty with the students gone, but Remus could still feel high levels of magic. He almost wanted to stay and explore the building without the interference of so many people to his senses, but he didn't dare ask.

Joseph stayed with Remus for several nights, just as he had after Simeon Lupin died. He left after less than a week though, after wringing a promise from Remus to contact him if he needed anything.

Depression had set in quickly, and the guilt was even worse than the summer before, though the anger was less. Remus wrote several versions of the same letter informing Dumbledore that he wasn't returning to Hogwarts. He was not worth the risk to the students, to Dumbledore's career and freedom. His friends would find a way to go on without him.

Bitterly Remus thought to himself that Sirius was clearly ready to go on, that the pack couldn't mean nearly as much to the dark haired, blue eyed boy as it did to Remus. He couldn't have done something so horrendous otherwise.

Remus ignored the 'crack' of apparition. Only a few people could get past the wards on the cottage, and if some Death Eater managed it Remus was more than a match for one of them, especially with the mood he was in recently. He almost relished the thought of a fight.

A little sniff identified his visitor as his friend's father and Remus braced himself for a lecture. He had ignored every letter that his packmates sent to him. They all went straight from the owls into the fire. The only letters he read were those from the headmaster on Order business and those from Davey. He put aside Lily's letters for when he wasn't quite so angry, though there was no telling when that would be. Remus had given Joseph permission to tell Davey the bare minimum of facts about what had happened. The younger Gryffindor had proven trustworthy. According to the letters, Davey had sent Sirius a long howler.

"What is this?" Aaron stepped into sight and held up a crumpled piece of parchment, one of the rejected letters.

"I assume you read it," Remus said with as little emotion as could manage. "My intent should be plain enough."

Aaron gave Remus a stern look, "We will discuss this later. Get changed for the memorial."

"It's today?" Remus asked, suddenly feeling vulnerable. He didn't want to see people. He was much more comfortable sequestered away with books and numbers that couldn't hurt him.

Pity flashed in the elder Potter's eyes for a moment and his tone softened, "Yes Remus. I'm here to bring you."

Remus stood and looked around the room. It was a mess, parchment and books everywhere. He had only eaten snacks and junk for days, whatever didn't need to be cooked and was already in the house. Viviane hadn't been making her daily trips to check on him for whatever reason.

It took only ten minutes for Remus to get ready, thanks to his emancipation. He used magic to clean himself and neaten his hair, remove the wrinkles from his robes, and buff his shoes. When he caught his reflection in the mirror he was shocked at what he saw.

He looked so much older than he had before the last full moon, now two weeks ago. It was not just the night with James, though that probably had a contribution. Remus then realized it was the first time he had thought of that since the day of the full moon. It felt like that night was two years ago, not two weeks.

Aaron gave him a quick hug and inspected his appearance briefly, "You look fine."

The Auror apparated him to the memorial, performed by Edgar's father. Apparently his sister, Amelia, was an Auror, though several years younger than her brother, but not an Order member. If they recruited too many Aurors there would be trouble with the Ministry.

Aaron stayed with Remus after the memorial and gave him a thorough talking to, but did not actually lecture. He told him that Sirius was being punished harshly for his error in judgment. He was under house arrest and had to go over every law regarding dark creatures and identify those that could have applied to the situation.

He then had to speculate on every possibility for what could have happened to Remus, Snape, James, and Sirius himself. Apparently Sirius had not thought about any of the consequences of his actions until James had yelled at him and then stalked off to stop Snape from getting hurt.

James and Sirius had gotten into several arguments already, with Sirius attempting to apologize and James yelling at him that sometimes apologies weren't enough. According to Aaron, James was deeply upset.

Peter hadn't shown his face at Potter Manor after the first time he had been there and arrived in the middle of a screaming match between James and Sirius.

"You are going back to Hogwarts," Aaron insisted.

Remus just looked down, "Why? No work that I can get will use my education. I'm just a danger to everyone."

"Are you a seer Remus?" Aaron asked him. Remus shook his head. "You have no idea what the future will hold. Albus has gone to great lengths to ensure you could get an education and I will _not_ calmly stand by and watch you throw that away."

Remus nodded shakily. He was not fully convinced that he belonged there, but if everyone else was so intent on him returning he would. Remus did feel a little better when Aaron finally left, declaring that Viviane would begin her visits again the next day, and Aaron would return soon to start teaching Remus to apparate. He still continued to burn his letters though. He read the ones from Lily, full of concern though she didn't appear to know what happened.

On the third letter he blinked and reread it. His jaw dropped open and for the first time in many weeks Remus smiled.

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Please Review!

-oOo-


	40. 39: Making Amends

**Chapter Thirty-Nine: Making Amends**

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Lily Evans tossed on her bed, flopping over to hug a pillow with an eyelet frill all around the edge underneath her. It was only a little over a week into the summer holiday and she was bored out of her skull already. To make it worse, she had taken her O.W.L. exams that spring so there was no summer homework to occupy her mind.

All her friends were only available to contact via owl. Bea's family was vacationing in America, which made Lily green with envy. They were going to Salem, Massachusetts, amongst other destinations, and Bea would get to see the Salem Wizarding Village. She would get see foreign wizards and witches and experience their different customs... Lily wished she could go.

The Diggorys and Andersons, both pureblood families, did not have any muggle technology in their homes. At the opposite end of the spectrum, as supportive as Lily's parents normally were, they refused to hook up the house to the Floo Network. They proclaimed that they could not possibly watch their daughter step into a blazing fire, or see her friends arrive in it. That had been an argument that sent Lily into a huff for days the summer before, but her anger had faded quickly. She was never mad for long, unless someone continued to irk her, like James Potter and Sirius Black... or her sister.

For the briefest moment Lily even missed her magic-hating sister Petunia. At least if Petunia was around Lily would have someone to argue with. Hell, she would have welcomed Black or Potter to break up the monotony. Briefly she wondered what their fight had been about at the end of that year.

Lily's parents did not qualify as the best company of late. Her father worked as an Emergency Room Physician and was on night shift for several days... or nights actually... and sleeping during the day. Her mother kept urging Lily to reconcile with Petunia, at least once a day, saying only pain would come from their animosity. To make matters worse she couldn't even yell at her mother, as she might wake up her father.

Lily had taken to avoiding her mother.

Not usually one to sleep in, Lily was staying in bed later and later, the better to avoid her mother. When she could no longer justify to herself staying under the covers she rolled out and went to the shower. She took far more time than necessary to wash her hair and stood for several minutes just letting the hot water beat down on her back.

Perhaps she would find a way to go to Diagon Alley, get some books she could read that summer. The proprietor of the bookstore might know what books were customarily used in sixth year at Hogwarts. She could get ahead for next year.

Lily wasn't worried about whether she passed her exams. All she had to do was decide which courses to continue with, and that meant deciding on a career. She had a handful of pamphlets from McGonagall but was no closer to a decision than she had been in her Career Advice meeting.

Normally Lily would write to Remus for a suggestion on books, or even on career advice, but he wasn't responding to any of her letters. He hadn't been on the train either, but that _was_ just after the full moon.

She worried that something might be wrong with him. Remus had spent a good deal of time that year alone, working on something that not even his roommates knew about. Peter had told her that they were all a bit worried about him. Ever since his father died the young werewolf had been nearly obsessed with his mystery project.

Lily ran a comb through her wet hair, then used a brush and hairdryer to fluff out the edges, wishing she could use magic on it. It was only one more year until she turned seventeen. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt she knew her mother disapproved of. It just made it all the easier to avoid her, as her mother would 'tsk' her distaste and go on to vigorously clean something.

There was a knock on the door downstairs but Lily ignored it. No one in the area wanted anything to do with her anyway. The only one who had was a boy she had met last summer, but his family had moved away almost as suddenly as they arrived a few years back. His father had worked for the American military.

"Lily!" Claire Evans's voice called up the stairs. "One of your friends is here!"

One of her friends? They had never been to the Evans house, with the exception of Remus that one time. There was no Floo anywhere nearby, Portkeys were hard to come by, and none of them were old enough to apparate yet. Lily didn't have any muggle friends, had only ever had a few.

She went down the stairs and was shocked by a sight she never thought she would see. James Potter was standing with his head bowed just inside the front door of her house.

"Potter?" Lily exclaimed and nearly screamed at the knowing look in her mother's eyes. "What are you doing here?"

He lifted his head and Lily saw that his eyes were rimmed in red, as if he had been crying. But what could make James Potter...

"Remus? Is Remus okay?" Lily crossed to him quickly and grabbed his arms.

Potter looked startled and nodded, "I think so... sorry... I just... I didn't know where else to go."

As always, Lily's mother assessed the situation quickly. Lily just wished her mother could apply that talent to the relationship between her two daughters, but maybe it was too close to home for that.

"I'll put on some tea," Claire looked James over. "Have you had breakfast James? Does your mother know you're here?"

"No I haven't, and I think she does," James shifted from foot to foot and ran a hand through his hair, tugging a little at the strands, though it wasn't his usual casual gesture. He seemed nervous. "I left her a message with one of the house elves."

Lily's mother gave her a confused look and mouthed 'house elves?' Lily shrugged, wondering herself what James was talking about. She kept getting little surprises from the wizarding world. Claire headed towards the kitchen and left Lily and James standing awkwardly in the entryway.

"Come inside," Lily turned and walked into the living, James following quietly, yet another unusual thing about this day. She had never seen James Potter being quiet after knowing him for five years.

They sat on the couch quietly for several minutes and James thanked her mother politely for the tea she brought in. Lily was astonished. This was a whole new James Potter, quiet, still, well mannered. He hadn't once asked her out or made any sign of playing a prank, unless this was all one big prank. _That_ she would not put past him.

"How did you get here?" Lily had to ask. If James could find his way, her other friends should be able to as well, unless what he did was illegal, which she also wouldn't really put past him.

"Knight Bus," James stated, and at her look of ignorance he continued, "magical transportation for your stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand arm and it will pick you up. It's pretty cheap, mostly for people who don't like apparating or end up lost and don't want to end up splinched."

Lily nodded slowly, "It's a magical bus." James gave her a weak smile and nodded. "And what are house elves?"

James blinked at her as though he was amazed she didn't know, "They're a couple feet high, squeaky voices, and they bond to wizarding families as servants. The Potter elves are more like family members than servants. They order me around all the time." Lily had to stifle a laugh at the imagery that popped into her head. "Hogwarts has hundreds of them in the kitchens."

"And when did you find the kitchens," Lily instantly went into prefect mode.

James had the good sense to at least look ashamed, "First year."

Lily shook her head but James was saved by Lily's mother announcing that breakfast was ready. The three of them sat down and ate together, but James didn't offer any reason for why he was there. They made polite conversation about classes and exams and James was able to carry on a surprisingly intelligent debate on whether to use charms or transfiguration in certain situations.

"So what brings you here dear?" Claire Evans questioned as she began on the dishes.

James's face instantly changed and he looked mildly panicked, "I had a fight with Sirius. He lives with us now, since he ran away from his parents' house."

"Why did he do that?" Claire Evans asked and Lily dreaded what was coming next.

"They're dark," James stated, his tone serious and cold, "and they wanted him to be like them."

Lily's mother stopped washing and turned, her eyebrows raised. Lily jumped in to interrupt. Family harmony had become her mother's favorite topic and she didn't want hear about it, especially where the Blacks were concerned. They made Petunia look like the best relative in the world.

"What was the fight about?" Lily questioned James.

He looked down, "Remus mostly. Sirius did something monumentally stupid... and I told Dumbledore."

"_You_ turned him in?" Lily was flabbergasted. Sirius Black and James Potter were practically joined at the hip. Whatever Sirius had done must have been terrible, "What did he do?"

James scowled, "He told Snape how to find Remus the last night of exams. I had to stop Snape from getting in, but he saw Remus."

It was terrible, the most terrible thing Sirius could have done to Remus short of telling the Ministry about him or giving him silver jewelry.

"And you are friends with this boy?" Lily's mother snapped.

Lily turned to her mother, "I doubt Sirius was thinking about what he was doing. He rarely does." She stood and motioned to James, "Let's go for a walk."

He nodded and followed her outside. They walked along the suburban streets with their neatly ordered gardens and trimmed lawns and it was hard to believe there was a war going on somewhere outside of all this.

"I'm sorry Lily, for everything," James looked pretty miserable and Lily felt herself feeling sorry for him despite her misgivings. "I've been a right prat all these years."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," Lily said softly. She led him towards a park that she and Petunia used to play in when they were little. It was a weekday, so there were fewer people there than there would be on a Saturday or Sunday. "The lot of you hardly ever pranked us girls."

"Yeah, well," James brushed a hand through his hair again, "you retaliate."

Lily snorted, "Damn right I do."

James smiled at her, "So who should I start with?"

"You want a list?" Lily raised her eyebrows and he winced. There were probably dozens of people he had hexed somewhat at random. "Try starting with Snape. The four of you are absolutely horrid to him."

James's hand touched his cheek, "He retaliates too."

"Someone has to apologize first," Lily said firmly. She was truly interested to see how he would react to her suggestion.

He swallowed and looked like he was about to face a firing squad, "Okay. I'll owl him tonight."

Lily did not believe it. Arrogant, hex happy James Potter was going to apologize to a Slytherin, and not just any Slytherin, but slimy Severus 'Snivellous' Snape.

They sat against an oak tree that had to be over one hundred years old. Lily had always loved that oak tree. She had learned how to climb in it, spent countless summer afternoons reading while perched on a branch.

James looked up into the branches, "Want to climb?"

Lily smiled freely at him for the first time ever she suspected. How had he known? "Definitely."

She jumped up and grabbed a low limb, swinging up into the tree with James right behind her. They found two thick branches near each other and sat down again. James took a deep breath and Lily waited. He was about to either tell her it was all a joke and ask her on a date, and Black would then pop out from behind the tree laughing, or he was going to spill everything.

It turned out that he spilled everything.

He talked about his meaningless encounters in the corridors and abandoned classrooms of Hogwarts. He told her he was an illegal animagus, and so were Sirius and Peter, that they did it for Remus so they could be with him when he transformed. Lily heard the full story of what happened on the full moon, and then saw tears in James's eyes.

"What is it?" Lily asked with concern. He had already told her plenty that was enough to make her cry, but she suspected there was something else.

"I... I slept with him," James's cheeks turned red and he looked down at his hands. Lily felt her eyes widen. She had dated a few people, but things had never gone that far. She felt too young to take that step and didn't fully believe all the rumors about James until that day, and he had been _twelve_. She felt a temptation to give that beater, Adam he had said, a piece of her mind.

"I slept with him, and then the next night I hurt him. The wolf fights for control near the full moon. I don't think he would have if it had been a different time of the month. I took advantage of him, and I hurt him, and I haven't heard from him since."

He was taking shuddering breaths and tears were falling unheeded. Lily suspected she was the first to hear any of this. No matter how accepting James's parents were Mr. Potter was an Auror and had to uphold the law, even if it was his son involved. James also appeared to still be furious with Sirius, and Lily was feeling the same herself just then, and he was the only other one that Lily could see him confiding in.

She reached out and put a hand on his. It was all James needed to lean over and rest his head on her shoulder. She put an arm around him and rubbed his arm soothingly.

"How did everything get so messed up?" James asked her desperately. "We're pack, closer than brothers even, and now I don't know if we'll ever be friends again."

_Pack?_ Lily had read everything she could find about werewolves, and had sent an owl order for the books the summer before that weren't in the library, going as far as getting a book on translating French. Little mysteries and clues began to fit together and make sense. The only way Peter could have managed to become an animagus was with a bond like that supporting him. As fond as she was of the bumbling wizard he had almost no magical talent.

The bond of a pack with a werewolf was probably one of the few involuntary bonds in the wizarding world, yet it had to be based on true affection between the werewolf and each pack member. This explained why the four boys were so close, closer than any other group of friends in the school. Their current fight was the only one she knew about since they all found out Remus was a werewolf.

"All friends have fights and hurt each other without meaning to," Lily said, trying to almost force James to calm down. She found herself actually admitting that she liked the hyperactive James better than the self-pitying James. "You'll all recover from this and your friendship will be stronger than ever."

James had stopped crying pretty quickly and Lily was amazed. He looked up at her with wide eyes and she noticed how beautiful his eyes were, "Really?"

Lily nodded and smiled. For an instant she thought he would kiss her, and she couldn't deny that she was interested in it happening. He straightened up and looked to the sky through the leaves.

"It's almost lunch time," James said through the tension.

"Maybe we should head back," Lily suggested, a little surprised that he didn't kiss her. By his own admission he had never hesitated to fool around with anyone who seemed willing. Maybe he was being honest about his desire to change.

An owl came for James during lunch and he opened it with obvious dread, "It's from Mum." Lily stifled another laugh. She was starting to like this new and improved James. He read the letter quickly and sighed, the owl perched on his shoulder. "Mum reminds me to thank you for your hospitality and apologize for dropping in without warning. She wants to know when she should come and drag me home by the ears, and invites Lily to come visit anytime she's available."

Claire laughed and Lily was relieved. The letter was a bit longer and probably had a lot more scolding in it if Lily had judged Viviane Potter correctly the summer before.

"You're welcome to stay for dinner to meet Lily's father," Lily's mother told him.

James nodded and looked around with a slightly lost expression. Lily took pity on him and fetched a pencil. He gave it an odd look and wrote a response to his mother on the back of her letter, "Take this to Mum Zeus."

Zeus hooted and nipped James's ear before flying away, "Thank you. Mum will be by after dinner time. She doesn't want me taking the Knight Bus after dark these days."

Lily saw the sober look on his face and realized that the war against the dark lord was much closer to him. His father and uncle were both Aurors, fighting the Death Eaters everyday.

"We can go write that letter if you like," Lily half-teased him. She didn't fully expect him to follow through with it. James continued to surprise her. He nodded and trailed behind her on the way to her room.

"Leave your door open!" Claire called after them.

Lily rolled her eyes, but James flushed. She supposed that if her mother actually knew what kind of reputation he had at Hogwarts, and that the truth was far more, she wouldn't let them be alone together anywhere.

They spent over an hour carefully composing a letter of apology to Severus Snape. It was a delicate process and took quite a bit of cunning. James had to seem apologetic but not pathetic, and they had to make sure Snape knew it wasn't a joke. When they were done they went back downstairs and Lily introduced James to television.

"How do they do that?" James looked like a little kid. "That has to use magic!"

Christopher Evans chuckled, just up from his sleep and getting ready for work, "It's a lot simpler than you might think James. You know how a camera works?"

James nodded and Lily's father went into a lengthy explanation of photography, video, and the transmission of words and images over wire, starting with the telegraph. James paid attention like he never did in class and kept asking questions throughout dinner. It was nearly time for Chris Evans to leave when there was a loud 'crack' in the backyard and a knock on the kitchen door.

"That's Mum," James said and cringed, probably in anticipation of a good scolding.

Claire Evans opened the door, "You must be Viviane Potter. I'm Claire Evans. Lily mentioned you last summer after the party at your house."

Lily's mother would really have to see Potter Manor someday. It couldn't truly be described at a house, castle was more accurate.

Viviane smiled brightly though, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I see Lily gets her stunning hair from you."

"Please come in. We just finished eating," Claire stepped back. "You already know Lily. This is my husband Christopher."

"It's a pleasure," Lily's father smiled. "I would love to stay and talk but I can't be late for work."

"What do you do?" Viviane asked with clear curiosity and Lily wondered if she had ever met muggles before.

"I'm a doctor," Chris replied, "in the ER."

"Emergency Room in the hospital," Lily supplied quickly for Viviane.

Viviane raised her eyebrows and smiled, "You must talk with Poppy sometime. She is the Healer at Hogwarts. I am sure she would love to meet a muggle counterpart. She's muggle-born like Lily but doesn't have much contact with her family."

"Mum knows everyone," James leaned over and whispered to Lily.

Lily's father drove off to the hospital and Viviane and Claire struck up a conversation while James fetched the letter to Snape from Lily's room, proclaiming he would send it as soon as he got home.

The rest of the summer was far less boring than Lily had expected. James became a regular guest in the Evans house and they took the Knight Bus to Diagon Alley more than once. Both of them got record high O.W.L. scores, James in Transfiguration and Lily in Charms. Lily went to Potter Manor a few times, but James preferred spending time away from Sirius and Peter, who had caved to Sirius's pleading and they were spending all their spare time together.

Even after all she had heard from James, the biggest surprise of the summer was yet to come. James showed up at her house one day looking absolutely bewildered and holding a sheet of parchment, "He responded."

Lily almost choked on nothing but the air she was breathing. She hadn't expected James to actually send the letter, never mind for him to get a reply from Snape that said something other than, 'Go fuck yourself'. He had a foul mouth.

That didn't explain the flush on James's face though, but his words once they were in her room did. He actually had a crush... she squirmed inside just at the thought. But then he went into a long explanation and she started to understand.

"I think I know why you always said no when I asked you out," James said almost shyly one night. They were at Potter Manor, on the roof of one of the wings, staring up at the stars. When Aaron Potter got home he was going to apparate Lily back to her house, something she had never experienced before.

"Oh you do?" Lily said tauntingly. She couldn't wait to hear this.

James grinned, "Yes I do. I was too nervous to ever really ask you, so I was always joking around when I asked. If I couldn't take that seriously, how could I ever take you seriously?"

Lily sat up and looked at him carefully. "Dear Merlin, you've grown up."

"Have not," James pouted.

Lily laughed brightly. It was a singularly strange summer. She was spending all her time with James Potter, helping him subtly proposition a Slytherin by owl post and enjoying every minute of it.

"I think...," James seemed on the verge of profound thought, or what passed for it in his brain, "we should be friends. If you can have more later I can wait."

Lily smiled at him. James Potter _had_ grown up.

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	41. 40: Mending What's Broken

**Sixth Year**

**Chapter Forty: Mending What's Broken**

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The school year began much as any other did, with one glaring exception that was noted by the entire school. There was an inordinate amount of tension surrounding the four sixth year Gryffindor boys. Remus Lupin was sitting next to Davey Gudgeon and his year mates. James Potter, to the great surprise of almost everyone there, was seated next to Lily Evans and the two were talking civilly. Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew were at the far end of the table.

More than one student got the feeling that if these four were forced closely together there would be an explosion... and not the sort that they usually caused.

The tension lasted well over a week. Remus Lupin had always been quiet, but he was even quieter than before. Very few people heard him speak, and then only if a professor, Davey Gudgeon, Lily Evans, or James Potter initiated conversation.

James Potter was made Quidditch Captain that year, and there was a celebration in the tower. Still, he only talked to Sirius Black at practices, and then grudgingly. He had other team members notify the beater of practice times and didn't get him out of bed for the early morning practices.

Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew acted pretty much like they always had, until Remus Lupin or James Potter got near. Then both of them would get very nervous and Sirius Black was likely to run from a murderous expression directed his way from James Potter.

Conditions in the room the four boys shared were not much better. The majority of Gryffindor was of the impression that Sirius Black had done something cruel and stupid and that Remus Lupin had ended up as the victim somehow. This was supported by the bizarre development that Lily Evans was now friends with James Potter and also shot death glares towards Sirius Black.

So Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew had taken to spending a great deal of time in their room. James Potter and Remus Lupin would only go there to get belongings they needed or to sleep. Word had it that each of the four beds and all the boys' possessions were heavily warded.

If anyone else from Gryffindor besides the four had gone into the room they would have seen a dramatic change from previous years. Sirius Black had gone to great lengths to keep his own belongings neat and properly stowed away, perhaps trying to get Remus Lupin to notice and say something. As he was hardly ever there James Potter hadn't had time to mess up his own things.

The room was oddly sterile. It no longer had the homey, wolf den feel from previous years. The Marauder Code of Conduct was still in James Potter's trunk. The detention tally sheet had not been started for that year, and none of them had received a single detention yet, despite the fact that James Potter still disappeared on the occasional evening. Remus Lupin had no personal items on display, and the Marauders' Map remained tucked neatly away in his first year potions book. So far as his friends knew he hadn't so much as looked at it since the previous spring. There were no photos of pranks stuck up on the walls. The Marauder Journal had not been opened.

Many of the students in the school, and even some of the faculty to their horror, found themselves wishing that the four boys would just prank everyone, or each other, or anyone really. The entire school felt weighted down by an oppressive gloom, as if the castle itself was picking up the mood of the four boys and transmitting it to every other occupant.

Only three members of the staff knew what the cause of the discord was.

"We have to do something Albus."

The headmaster shook his head solemnly and popped a lemon drop into his mouth.

"Minerva is right Albus," Poppy Pomfrey fingered her wand. She had wanted to hex that Sirius Black last spring, and was disgusted with herself for wanting to harm a student in her care, but still entertained thoughts of covering him in boils that had to heal slowly, very slowly. "I wish you could have expelled that boy."

"Sirius Black made a grave error in judgment, but he did not look to actually hurt anyone," Albus Dumbledore looked at the two women sitting across from him sternly. "He has lost the trust of his friends and his adoptive family." He sighed. It was more than that. Sending Black away from the school might send him back to the darkness that he had run away from.

Minerva McGonagall shook her head and looked the headmaster in the eye, "They cannot go on like this. A pack cannot do this. They are tearing themselves apart."

"The boys will resolve this on their own, or not at all," the twinkle returned to bright blue eyes as he gazed at one of his many silver instruments. "It will all sort out soon. The full moon approaches."

It was only a few days before the full moon, the first one at Hogwarts since the 'Shrieking Shack Incident'. Four boys tried to sleep in the same room, as it was still early on a Saturday morning, but none of them could force their eyes to close.

Behind drawn curtains James finally spoke, "Three days left. What are we doing this month?"

That one question was enough for the other three boys to fling open their own curtains. Simultaneous they all responded.

Peter squeaked in surprise. James had hardly spoken to him since he had started spending time with Sirius again.

Sirius looked immensely relieved, "You mean it?"

"Nothing," Remus's voice was flat and carried on after the others. "You are all staying here."

"Like hell I'm staying here," James was defiant.

"Please Moony," Sirius addressed Remus directly for the first time since he confessed months earlier, "we can't all go on like this. Why can't you just... I don't know... deck me or something. I was stupid! I wasn't thinking about what could happen!"

"You never do!" Remus snapped, showing the first shred of emotion that any of the others had seen since that day. "You breeze through life like nothing you do is ever wrong, like nothing will ever hurt you. Yes, you are stupid!" Sirius flinched and Peter's eyes were wide. James looked quite satisfied.

"Have you ever listened to a word I've said to you?" Remus was off his bed and standing with fists clenched in the center of the room. "Have any of you? Years as a pack and you don't realize..."

"What?" Sirius said softly, pleading as he slid to the floor and knelt at Remus's feet in submission.

"No matter how hard you hurt me, no matter what you do to me, I can't so much as scratch you," Remus's voice was tight and low, barely above a whisper. The wolf was urging him on, crying out for vengeance. "As much as a part of me wants to rip you to shreds for your betrayal," Sirius cringed as if the blow was imminent, "I can't, and just looking at you is torture."

"Then have someone else do it," Sirius had tears in his eyes and his breathing was labored.

"Excuse me?" Remus the studious was back. He blinked at his once best friend.

"Someone else can rip me to shreds," Sirius insisted, "but please do something! I can't bear it anymore. I've destroyed us all. I don't deserve any of you."

Emotions warred on Remus's face and they all waited in silence on his decision. It was in the Code. If a Marauder broke the Code the others decided his fate. Whatever choice Remus made James and Peter would go along with it. The werewolf's face went still and they knew Remus had come to some conclusion. He went to James and whispered in his ear, and an absolutely maniacal grin stretched across Prongs's face. He bounded out of his bed, out the door, and down the stairs.

"Where is he going?" Sirius questioned.

Remus just cocked an eyebrow and Sirius fell silent. He swallowed deeply and waited for James to come back with the punishment Remus had decided on. He and Peter certainly were not expecting James to bounce back into the room, his old energy back full force, with Lily Evans following curiously.

"Why am I in here?" Lily asked Remus and James, ignoring the other two.

"He didn't tell you Lee?" Remus shot a look to James, who just grinned.

Lily shook her head. The two boys who actually knew what was going on shared a series of expressions, and Remus clearly won the silent conversation.

James cleared his throat, "Due to the crimes committed by one Sirius Black, in violation of the Marauder Code of Conduct," Sirius and Peter both shot horrified looks at Lily but she was not at all fazed, "his infractions have been duly considered and his fate determined. He will apologize to Severus Snape in the great hall, during dinner on this day before the entire school, though he need not specify the reason due to the nature of the crime. He will also submit to a hit, punch, or whatever she decides on, from Lily Evans, as friend and representative of the wronged party."

"Because Remus can't," Lily said softly.

"How did you know that?" Sirius asked the red haired girl.

"I read," Lily snapped, "unlike some."

Sirius swallowed deeply again and stood up, ready to submit. Lily hesitated, and looked at James and Remus, who both nodded her forward, and she drew back a hand and punched Sirius firmly in the eye.

"Ow!" both Sirius and Lily exclaimed.

Lily was holding her hand, "That hurt! Why do boys do that so much?"

Remus smiled at her and took her hand in his, inspecting it for injury. He cast a quick charm on it, and she flexed it and smiled back. Sirius held his hand over his eye, but neither asked for healing nor expected any of them to offer. He was grinning like an idiot.

"We're just foolish like that," James was bobbing on his feet, grinning widely.

It was only then that they noticed Peter was blushing furiously and had his sheets pulled up to completely cover his chest, "Why is she in here when we're not dressed?"

Three boys looked down to see they were clad only in boxer shorts and blushed brightly. Lily did her absolute best not to look at any of them as she exited the room in a rush, apologizing to Peter and blushing furiously herself.

Remus started laughing, and James soon followed. Sirius joined them after a bit of hesitation but Peter continued to imitate a ripe tomato.

"James! Remus!" Peter yelped. "You could have warned me at least."

"Oh lighten up Peter," James gasped between laughs.

Sirius echoed his friend, "Yeah. She didn't see you anyway. You were hiding behind your sheet."

"I wasn't hiding!" Peter squeaked again.

"Yes you were," James rolled his eyes. "It's not that bad you know. Don't you want a girl to see you in your undies?"

"Of... of course I do," Peter dropped his sheets and turned even brighter red, if that was possible.

"Keep trying to convince us Petey," Sirius held a hand up and waved away Peter's objections.

Peter grew frustrated and pulled out his wand. Still not entirely sure of the new group dynamics, he pointed it at Sirius and spoke the first hex that came to mind, _Furnunculus!_

James and Remus laughed even harder. Sirius was now covered in boils in addition to the spectacular black eye that was forming. The hexes began flying and before long it was like the Marauders were transported back over a year, before the war outside began to truly impact them.

The room was a mess when they were done. Remus pulled out the Marauder Journal, flipped to a page in the back, and made a tick mark.

"How many?" Peter question, trying to reverse the bat bogey hex that had hit him.

Remus smiled, "This will be the twenty-fifth time the elves will have to replace bed curtains, mattresses, and linens."

"We should celebrate," James suggested.

Sirius nodded, "It's a Hogsmeade weekend."

All of them grinned as they set about reversing the hexes on each other and restoring some semblance of order to the room. The decorations that traditionally went on the walls the instant the four of them got to the room each September were stuck up at that time. They all got showered and dressed and went down to the great hall together, completely ignoring the mystified looks from the rest of the student body and the staff.

"I take it you all hexed each other to Hades and back and everything is better now?" Lily and the rest of the Gryffindor sixth year girls joined the boys at the breakfast table.

"Better," Remus allowed. Sirius looked slightly nervous, but still pleased that James and Remus were at least talking to him.

"What has been going on with the four of you?" Yvonne questioned, sounding exasperated. She reached across Remus and stabbed a sausage with her fork.

"Nothing is going on," James appeared to look completely stymied.

Sirius echoed the expression of confusion, "Yeah. What are you talking about Von?"

The girl huffed, and James and Sirius snickered. She got a sympathetic look from her twin at the Hufflepuff table across the hall and just attended to her breakfast without trying to get anything further from the boys. Alone, it was sometimes possible to get some information, but when the four were together it was like talking to a stone wall... or a two year old. The girls were much fonder of referring them as toddlers.

The Marauders spent the day in Hogsmeade as through no fight had ever occurred. The owners of the joke store saw them coming and got ready for a large sale. Remus dragged them all into the bookstore while he inspected all the recently published works and looked through the antique section, though he did not seem to find anything of value.

"Moony!" James whined. "We want butterbeer."

Remus shot James a dirty look, "Lower your voice James. You're in a bookstore."

"It's a bookstore," James grumped, "not a library."

Sirius put on his best manners and bowed deeply to the werewolf, "M. Moony, Messrs. Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs request your presence to join them for a cup at the nearest drinking establishment."

Peter and James both started laughing, but did their best to do so quietly. Remus, though, raised his eyebrows and took in the deep bow and arm flourish.

"Very well M. Padfoot," Remus put on a pompous air, "M. Moony accepts your invitation and sets the time to gather for five minutes past the hour, which would be two minutes from the current time."

With the protests of the clerk behind the counter at the bookstore following them, the four boys tore out of the store and down the street to find a table at the Three Broomsticks within the two minutes that Remus had allowed. Lily, Von, Bea, Alice, and Frank only joined them briefly, driven away by the latest Marauder habit of addressing each other formally with their nicknames. It was only when those five left that Madame Rosmerta supplied them each with a shot of firewhiskey, winking as she set down their drinks.

"I would say the day was a roaring success," Peter announced as he collapsed on his bed that evening.

"Manners, M. Wormtail," Sirius shook his finger at the rat animagus. Peter just stuck out his tongue.

"Put that away Petey!" James covered his eyes in mock horror, and so didn't see the pillow that flew his way. He stood and advanced on Peter, holding the pillow threateningly, which was quite an accomplishment as a pillow was not the best weapon.

"Quit it," Remus prevented another all out war from his bed, "once a day is enough. The house elves like us but we don't want to push it."

"Oh fine M. Moony," James sat on Remus's bed instead and lay down with the pillow that Peter had thrown at him.

"Hey that's my pillow!" Peter complained.

"Well Remus won't let me give it back," James said with a grin, eliciting a groan from Remus and a whine from Peter. Sirius just reclined on his bed and watched, laughing lightly. "So what _are_ we going to do this month?"

"Nothing."

"But Moony!"

"I – said – NO," Remus glared at the boy on his bed. Sirius and Peter stayed out of the argument, not comfortable yet with challenging Remus. The werewolf stood and addressed them all, "None of you will join me. If I hadn't told you where I go, Sirius wouldn't have been able to tell Snape. I say no, and that's the end of it."

Remus stalked off to the bathroom and slammed the door behind him. Each of the three boys watching him winced as he did so, and none of them spoke at first, hopefully waiting for Remus to come back and change his mind. They heard the shower start, and the water changed tempo as it hit a body.

"I'm going anyway," James said through clenched teeth.

"James...," Sirius looked unsure, unsettled, "maybe we should just..."

"What?" James spun and snapped. "We should let him rip himself to bloody shreds because he still feels guilty for what happened? Did you even see how my mum looked each full moon this summer?"

Sirius flinched. Peter hugged his legs up to his chest and did his best to make himself as small as possible. He hated when they all fought, and they had done nothing else for months.

"No...," Sirius swung out an arm as if to punch something, but the only thing in his way was a bed curtain. It wrapped around his hand and he shook it off. "I just... he said no... and I'm not going to mess this up again."

"Then stay," James said, his eyes narrowed and his jaw tight. "I'm going alone."

"It's not that I don't...," Sirius pleaded with his eyes, trying to convey what he felt without actually having to put it into words.

James softened and his whole body seemed to deflate, "I know Siri. I'm sorry I've been such a prat."

Sirius shook his head, "I would have done the same if it was you that hurt him."

"I know," James smiled. He pulled out his invisibility cloak and shut his bed curtains before disappearing. His disembodied voice spoke from near the door to the stairs and the common room, "I'm out of here. Goodnight."

"Night," Sirius waved at nothing.

There was a chuckle and the door shut. Sirius just shook his head.

"He still...," Peter piped up from his bed.

"Gets laid?" Sirius finished the question and Peter turned bright red. "Did you think he would stop? Who would?"

Peter just continued to blush and picked up his nightclothes, heading for the bathroom. Sirius used a spell to wash himself and brush his teeth, and changed in the empty room. He got into his bed and stared up at the canopy, half wishing he had someone to go meet. There was a girl from Hufflepuff that had seemed interested the previous spring, but that felt like years ago. He couldn't get into the new partner ever week or so thing like James did.

Sirius had changed, what he wanted had changed. Unlike he told Peter, he thought that James might have changed as well and not go for the one or two night stands that had frequented his earlier Hogwarts years.

Peter returned and fell asleep pretty quickly. It was a bit longer before Remus got back. Sirius got out of his bed and faced his friend, he hoped, without the others to intervene.

"I really am sorry Remus," Sirius knew it was the most honest apology he had ever spoken.

"I know Sirius," Remus used a spell to dry his hair, which was getting very shaggy, almost shoulder length. "You're pack, and I still love you, just right now... I don't know if I trust you anymore."

Sirius nodded and swallowed. He would have to earn back that trust somehow. "Are you sure about the full moon? You said it's better when we're there."

"Sirius," Remus's face was stern and firmly controlled. Sirius saw a flicker of something in the hazel eyes, leaning more towards gold at that time of the month. "You know I can't hurt you, but do you think that Moony can't?"

His jaw dropped, "I hadn't..."

"No you didn't think of that," Remus sighed and shook his head. "Stay away from the Shack Sirius... Padfoot too. I can't guarantee your safety if you get anywhere near Moony. If you love me, you'll stay away. If I hurt you..."

Sirius nodded quickly, tears pooling in his eyes. He had cried himself to sleep so many times that summer, more than he had ever cried before in his life. Sirius stepped forward impulsively and wrapped Remus in a tight hug, nothing else sufficient to convey what he felt. When Remus finally hugged him back the tears fell, and Remus comforted him.

Remus... who had more right to be upset than Sirius did.

Remus... the one Sirius had betrayed.

Remus... the best and smartest.

Remus... the werewolf.

Life just wasn't fair.

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	42. 41: The Vampire and the Stag

**Chapter Forty-One: The Vampire and the Stag**

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"You are going to do what?" Severus Snape hissed. His eyes were narrowed and he glared down at James Potter.

He would have been much more intimidating if he had been wearing anything at all... well... maybe not _anything_. James grinned at the mental images he was coming up with and the glare only got harder. He remembered why Severus was glaring at him and sighed.

"Why do you think I became an animagus?" James sat up and started pulling on his trousers.

"The challenge?" Severus suggested. His brow dipped in thought and James predicted that one day there would be little wrinkles there from the habit. "Because it's illegal and you managed to do it without anyone in authority finding out?"

"If I had been sorted in Ravenclaw or Slytherin maybe," James grinned at the conclusions. If Severus were to attempt the animagus transformation those might be his motivations. James wondered what life would be like if Remus and Severus had both been sorted into Ravenclaw, as the hat had considered for both of them. "We did it to be with Remus when he changes, to make it easier for him. He didn't know until we managed it, and that was hard. It took us three bloody years to work it out."

"We?" Severus's voice was low, deadly, and it sent a shiver down James's spine.

Then James realized he had slipped and he winced, and nodded, "Yeah we. Sirius and Peter are a dog and a rat..."

"Black I can understand, but Pettigrew can transform?" Severus looked like his eyes might pop out of his heads, "_Pettigrew!_"

"Yes," James defended his friends and got only a single raised eyebrow in return. Severus really had the best facial expressions, once you got past the greasiness of the hair, especially when... James mentally shook himself and got back on topic. "We helped." The eyebrow went higher, "a lot."

Severus snorted, "I can see him as a rat, and Black as a dog." His face got a purely evil grin.

James mirrored it, "You realize you can't use that against them at all."

"What?" Severus's grin fell, the figurative carpet pulled out from under his feet.

"You can't even hint at it," James smirked, "because then they would wonder how you found out, and no one knows but the four of us, so it would have to be us, and Remus is way too good at keeping secrets..."

"Damn you," Severus growled and started looking around for his own clothing.

James stopped him and pulled the Slytherin against him, kissing him thoroughly, "I have to get back. I'm usually back by now."

"Usually?" Severus frowned.

"You think all those rumors have no foundation?" James asked as he swung his invisibility cloak around his shoulders, leaving the hood down.

Severus looked a bit defeated, but only for a split second before he regained his composure and gave James's floating head a disdainful look, "It's not any of my business."

James hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should disagree but shook his head and pulled up the hood. On his walk back to Gryffindor he thought about his current situation. Severus had a sharp wit, and a brilliant mind, and was actually pretty good with his body as well. James had turned down several offers already that term, without a second thought, and continued meeting the Slytherin.

Was it more than sex? James shivered, sudden understanding hitting him like a bludger. It had to be more, especially as they hadn't actually _had_ intercourse yet. He had already met with Severus more than any other individual, and they hadn't engaged in sex. There were many other things to do, and most of them had been explored eagerly, but that step hadn't come yet, and James hadn't been with anyone else.

It almost made it like... like Severus was his boyfriend... or something. James made it up to his room and into his bed, thankful his friends were asleep. If he had to talk to anyone just then, it could only be Lily. No one else could possibly understand, except maybe Remus, but James couldn't do that to his friend.

Severus's walk to his common room required more vigilance on his part, as he was not in possession of an invisibility cloak, and involved much less soul searching. He was in his bed when he swore loudly, glad that his curtains had a permanent imperturbable spell that kept his roommates away. It wouldn't do if they ever heard who he dreamt about lately.

"That bastard didn't answer my question," Severus pressed his lips into a thin line and realized that the full moon was the next night. He wouldn't be able to get James alone to get an answer either.

The Gryffindor had evaded him and sidetracked him as skillfully as a Slytherin. A sly smile replaced the thin line. James Potter was much more Slytherin than anyone would ever admit. Someday he would ask the other boy what the sorting hat had said to him. Life would have been very interesting if the Potter heir had been sorted into Slytherin. Of course, life was already very interesting, and Severus liked it just fine the way it was.

The full moon was not mentioned amongst the Marauders at any time between the day they began to repair their friendship and the day of the full moon. Sirius was sufficiently scared off. He had no desire to be mauled, and then to have to explain how he had got that way. James was determined to stay his course, and was not about to give Remus any clue or a chance to dissuade him. Peter was not even going to consider challenging the alpha wolf. He considered himself the delta of the pack, and knew that the others did too. They were all just too nice to say it, or too patronizing.

When the full moon came Remus sat naked and alone in the Shrieking Shack, preparing himself for yet another transformation. His muscles twitched and jerked, and he could feel his skin starting to split and the hairs growing before it began. A pair of tears fell before the first scream was ripped from his throat. If he had been able to concentrate on anything except the pain he would have detected a familiar scent getting closer, and become very angry with his best friend.

James lifted the trapdoor that led from the tunnel to the Shack and entered it alone. It was strange without his friends, or without the panic that had accompanied him the only other time he had come here alone... at night... on the full moon.

Shadows looked longer than they should have been. Every little sound made him jump and point his wand into the darkness. He could have sworn he saw something move more than once, but nothing could see him under his cloak.

The screams were loud when he crawled up onto the dirty wide planked wooden floor. He checked the room carefully, laughing to himself nervously at his own paranoia. He had run around the Forbidden Forest with a werewolf fearlessly. What was there to be afraid of?

The hand that clamped down on his shoulder almost made him embarrass himself quite thoroughly. James just barely maintained control of his bladder.

"What are you doing here?"

James didn't know the voice, and when he turned it took him several minutes to place the face, though the obvious species should have been a clue. He removed his cloak, as it obviously didn't hide him just then.

"Joseph?" the vampire nodded and James breathed just a little easier. "You can't hurt me... right?"

"I assure you, James Potter," Joseph's eyes glinted dangerously, "that could I hurt any of Remus's pack, your number would already be one fewer."

James shuddered and nodded his understanding. He wondered if he should ever relate that to Sirius, but decided it probably wasn't the best course. Sirius was already horrified by what he did. Adding fear for his life wouldn't help matters at all.

A little more confidently, with the knowledge that he was probably safer at that moment than even inside Hogwarts, James looked the vampire in the eye, "I am here for Remus."

"Do you have a death wish?" Joseph looked amused.

James shook his head, "Moony won't hurt me."

"You seem very confident of that," Joseph smiled and the long canines gave James an instinctual icy fear. "You would not mind if I opened that door then?"

"No," James put on a little smile of his own, "I wouldn't mind." Joseph looked like he was decided between being impressed with James and thinking him a fool. "Why are you here?"

"I have seen Remus on every full moon since your friend pulled his dangerous stunt," Joseph's face was blank. "He does not know I have been doing this after the first two, and I would appreciate you not telling him."

"What do you do?" James questioned. It was a unique situation he was in. Not many wizards were completely safe in the company of a vampire, much less while interrogating them.

"I tell the wolf not to harm himself," Joseph said sternly. "He has no choice but to listen."

"Why didn't you do that after his father died?" James found himself accusing before he could stop himself.

Joseph raised his eyebrows, "You are certainly a Gryffindor. The wolf needed to mourn then as much as the man did. Here, if your friend was not pack, Remus could just beat him to a bloody pulp and be done with it. Instead he has had to hold onto all his anger and pain. I will not let the wolf hurt my child because he loves his friends."

Hearing extreme violence spoken about in such a calm, emotionless voice made James shiver.

"If it makes you feel better I punched Sirius the next day... hard," James smiled hopefully. "Lily did too, just the other day. He still has a black eye. My parents were pretty hard on him all summer."

"I know," Joseph did smile at James with a bit of satisfaction. "I spoke with your father, and with Albus Dumbledore."

"He didn't tell me that!" James exclaimed.

"He wouldn't have," Joseph laughed. "I could see his temptation to curse me the whole time. Aurors do not often speak with dark creatures." Joseph tilted his head towards the room where Remus transformed. "He is done."

James nodded and followed the vampire. Just before Joseph reached for the door James transformed, and Joseph looked back at him and lifted his eyebrows. If a stag could grin James would have. Joseph just shook his head and opened the door. A snarling Moony lunged towards them, and Joseph simply held out a hand.

Moony shrank back, and James was amazed. What he was watching... it was likely that no other wizard had ever seen anything like it.

"You will not harm yourself or any other this night," Joseph commanded forcefully.

The wolf whimpered and slunk towards Joseph, butting his head against the outstretched hand. Joseph smiled sadly and lowered himself to his knees. He stroked Moony's snout and rubbed behind his ears, then wrapped him in a firm embrace.

James stayed back, not willing to intrude. Joseph finally stood and started to leave. He stopped at the door and looked back, "Take care of my child."

Antlers bobbed as the stag head nodded in acknowledgment. He would always take care of Remus. There was another whimper and James turned back to Moony. He nudged the wolf with his snout, and Moony curled up on the dirty floor of the Shack. James settled down in the doorway, blocking the only escape route from the room. He turned his head, but Joseph was already gone.

Just before it was time for Remus to transform, James backed out of the room and changed back to his human form. Moony raised his head and bared his teeth, snarling, but made move to attack. Rather than risk the wolf breaking the vampire's control, James shut the door quickly and activated the wards, glad they could go up or be taken down with no more than a word.

He met his friends in the kitchens for their morning after the moon ritual. James suspected his face was solemn as he sat down and waited for the elves to pile food in front of him.

"What did you do?" Sirius asked hesitantly.

James shrugged, "I sat in the doorway all night."

"You just sat there?" Peter asked suspiciously, like James was hiding something.

James bit into a muffin and washed it down with some juice, "Yes I did. He stayed in the room all night. I may have gone there against his wishes, but I wasn't about to let him out. Remus would never have forgiven me."

Both Sirius and Peter had the decency to look ashamed. James shook his head. They had probably imagined Prongs and Moony bounding through the forest without them, having the time of their lives.

"Anyway," James brushed his hair back, "do you think Prongs can actually open a door? He has hoofs for Merlin's sake!"

Laughter ensued. It was a good image, a stag attempting to turn a handle to open a door. Prongs wouldn't be able to get a grip on the handle with his hoofs or his mouth. Padfoot was the only one who could open doors. Wormtail was the one who could prod the knot on the tree. Prongs was the one who could overpower a werewolf. Together they made a good team.

Remus wasn't too happy with James, but he admitted that it hadn't been a bad month, and he had been expecting it to be pretty bad.

James was actually more nervous to see Severus than he had been to tell Remus what he had done. There had been no question about whether to tell Remus. The friendship between the four of them was fragile, and James wasn't going to screw it up by keeping that from him.

Of course, he had no idea what would happen if they found out about Severus. Sirius still hated him with a passion, and Peter was more than willing to go along with that. Remus just felt guilt whenever the Slytherin was mentioned, which made it even easier for Severus to avoid the Marauder that he was now deathly afraid of.

"You distracted me," Severus glared at him the next time they met. There was no 'hello', no jumping him for a kiss, just the accusation.

"Of course I did," James replied, refusing to back down. "I was going no matter what you said, so arguing the point was useless."

"How can you do that?" Severus was pale, and James felt guilty. Had the Slytherin been afraid for him all that night?

James stepped towards Severus and took him in his arms, "We're Remus's pack. I would die for him, as I would for Sirius or Peter." He kissed Severus softly, slowly, "as I would for Lily... and for you."

Severus scoffed and pulled away, "You would die for me."

It was not a question. Severus said it with disbelief, with doubt.

"Do you think so little of yourself?" James asked. Severus would not look at him. "If nothing else I would say you are my friend now, though I don't do with my friends what I do with you."

"No?" Severus was teasing now, avoiding the serious topic.

"Well...," James drew it out.

Severus almost growled, but James doubted the comparison to Sirius or Remus would be welcomed, "Well?"

"Only once with a Gryffindor from our year, and I won't say any more," James admitted.

Severus shuddered, "Just tell me it wasn't Pettigrew."

"It wasn't Pettigrew," James mocked his disdainful tone. Severus had a look of absolute disgust on his face. "It wasn't! Peter can't even stand it when the subject is brought up... about what I've done. He gets all nervous and flustered and embarrassed. It's not like we're talking about his sex life! Or actually his lack of..."

"Potter?" Severus looked irritated.

James frowned, wondering what was wrong, "What?"

"Shut the hell up already," Severus smirked and pulled the Gryffindor towards him for a bruising kiss. His hands grasped James's rear and squeezed.

James didn't say another word for hours, though several unintelligible sounds did sneak past his lips.

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	43. 42: The Fidelius Charm

**Chapter Forty-Two: The Fidelius Charm**

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"It's done?" Peter's voice was hushed with awe.

As well it might be. Spread out on a transfigured table before the Marauders was a map that showed every room and passageway in the school that they knew about. Little dots, labeled with people's names, moved around the map. They looked at four dots that were clustered in the room they were standing in, labeled with their names.

"Remus," Sirius also spoke quietly, touching the parchment reverently, "this is bloody amazing. I mean..."

He trailed off, not quite knowing the appropriate words to express his sentiment of the moment.

Remus just bit his lip and frowned, "There was more I wanted to do. I can't make the staircases move when they do in the castle, and I can only show a bit of the grounds. I wanted to color code the dots somehow to reflect..."

"Whoa there Remy," James hugged the werewolf and stopped the long lecture on the making of the map before it began. "It's beautiful. I know we helped, but none of us could have done this... or anything even remotely close."

Remus felt his cheeks heating up. He wondered what they would think if they knew about his other project. Next to that the map was child's play. He was getting close too, and it was time he asked Professor Dumbledore for more information on the intended purpose of the spell. He looked at the floor and... yes... Peter had just, as though it wasn't even there, walked right through the lockbox that contained all his notes. He had a few more tests to perform before going to the headmaster.

"We can really put this to good use," James grinned the Marauder grin that meant several people were about to be very angry with the four of them.

Peter's eyes widened in anticipation and Sirius nodded eagerly, "Who are we going to prank now Prongs?"

The Marauders had made up for lost time. Not long after their reconciliation, more than half those at the Slytherin table found they could only talk in backwards rhyming pentameter. That one lasted for several hours and was quite amusing. A few of the Slytherins not afflicted by the potions figured out a charm that let them understand their classmates, but didn't reverse the prank.

"Well," James looked purely devilish, "Lily did mention this summer that we hardly ever prank the girls."

"Because their retaliation is usually harsher than the prank," Sirius pointed out warily.

"True," James tapped the map with his wand, "Mischief Managed," and the images faded away. Remus folded it and tucked it away securely, "but we didn't have the completed map before. We can avoid their retaliation, and perhaps even turn it back on them."

Remus gave James an amused look, "Lily won't like this."

"It's not all the pranks that really upset her," James pointed out. The others all listened closely, as Remus was the only one who had talked with her length about their behavior and had always refused to share. "She doesn't like when we randomly hex people, and act like we own the school. A little good natured fun won't be a problem."

"If you say so," Remus shrugged.

The prank war that followed between the sixth year Gryffindor boys and girls entertained the entire school for well over a month. Both groups were careful not to leave evidence that they were responsible for the latest prank, and so long as they weren't interrupting lessons the staff wasn't about to interfere. After all, while the students were spending their time laughing at the Marauders and their feminine counterparts, and debating what would happen next, they weren't worrying about the war outside the wards of the school.

"Damn!" Sirius fumbled with his hair, now long enough to brush the floor. None of the shortening charms, cutting charms, or even non-magical methods worked to bring his hair back to its normal length.

"Sirius, watch out for my notes in that box," Remus said absently from his bed, though he was watching very closely.

Sirius tripped and fell to the floor, tangled up in hair and random articles of clothing, "Remus! I thought you were the neat one!"

"If the three of you are allowed to make the room look like a muggle bomb exploded in it, I am certainly allowed to occasionally leave a belonging where it doesn't belong," Remus stated superiorly. He looked down at Sirius with raised eyebrows. Sirius just grumbled and attempted to disentangle himself.

"What box are you talking about Remus?" James asked from his bed. He was looking around the floor but didn't appear to see Remus's lockbox.

"It's on the floor by Siri's big feet James," Remus told him. Inwardly he was soaring with pride. So far the spell worked. James had a perplexed look on his face.

"I could have sworn it wasn't there a second ago," James mussed up his hair a little. Despite the maturity that seemed to envelope the Marauder overnight the previous June, James was still James. He still got a mischievous glint in his eyes when he was planning a joke. He still messed up his hair to give it even more of that just-stepped-off-my-broom-after-a-winning-quidditch-game look.

Peter snorted from his own place, and then scratched his quill furiously over what he had already written. He had not done very well on his O.W.L.s and so had very few classes with his friends. The only N.E.W.T. classes he was taking were Divination, which none of them were in anyway, Care of Magical Creatures, and Transfiguration, which he slipped into just by a point or two.

"It's been there for weeks," Peter's frown deepened and he slammed his Transfiguration book shut, taking out his lower level Charms text to begin on that homework. If he didn't pass this assignment, he couldn't join the apparition lessons that started soon.

Remus smirked. He had been relying on Peter's almost obliviousness to everything around him that the rat animagus wouldn't notice James and Sirius walking right through the box for weeks. Remus had waited for the perfect opportunity to test his theories. He had time, and now he could take the next step in his tests of the new charm he developed.

"I'm going to the library," Remus announced and picked up the box, shrinking it and placing it in an otherwise empty pocket.

"What subject?" James asked, as if considering joining his friend.

As Remus was not actually headed for the library, he would have to dissuade his friends from accompanying him, "Not for class. You see... I was thinking..."

There was an almost frantic rustling of parchment and several denials of needing any books that were not already in their room. Remus knew that for the next several hours the three of them wouldn't get within one hundred yards of the library unless it was an emergency. With the amount of homework from their classes that year, not one of them wanted to be sucked into another of Remus's side projects.

Remus chuckled as he left the room and his friends all flushed, caught, "I'll see you all later."

It took another thirty minutes to get past the common room. Ever since Remus had pulled Davey Gudgeon from the clutches of the Whomping Willow he had become nearly as popular with the rest of his House as James and Sirius were. He helped a group of third years who were feeling overwhelmed with their introduction to Arithmancy, and talked briefly to Davey and his friends.

"Phoenix feather," Remus whispered to the gargoyle that guarded the headmaster's office, his hand placed on the gargoyle's head. He shivered as a wave of magic swept through him, scanning and identifying him as an Order member. The password was used for Order business only, and Remus highly suspected that the headmaster had some sort of warning system in place that notified him whenever the password was used.

The gargoyle jumped aside and Remus stepped onto the moving staircase. He had ridden these steps perhaps more than any other student, from a combination of the dangers inherent in being a Marauder, and his work for the headmaster.

"Come in Remus," Dumbledore's voice spoke before Remus even thought to raise his hand and knock.

Before obeying Remus took the box out of his pocket and enlarged it to its customary size. He held it in both hands as he walked into the office and noted with satisfaction that Dumbledore stared intently at the space between his hands with his brow furrowed. Remus took an offered lemon drop and sucked on it, glad to have something to do to calm his tingling nerves.

"I cannot detect a thing," Dumbledore looked up at Remus's eyes. "You _are_ holding something..."

Remus just smiled. He couldn't answer or it might disturb the test. Rather, he put the box on the headmaster's desk and took out a slip of parchment.

_The notes on the Fidelius Charm are in the lockbox on Albus Dumbledore's desk._

"Read this and concentrate on what it says," Remus slid the parchment across to Dumbledore. He was edgy with anticipation, nearly praying that it would work.

Dumbledore did as instructed and blinked in surprise, "Is it complete?"

"Close," Remus shook his head and sat down. "I need one more test at this stage, and for that we need another Order member. Then I have some questions."

Remus was a little nervous at that. Despite the trust the headmaster had put in him, Remus was aware that he was the youngest member of the Order, and only privy to the project he was working on. He knew that Order members were engaged in a broad spectrum of activities in attempts to bring down You-Know-Who, but that any questions he asked on those activities would never be answered. He simply didn't need the information.

Dumbledore's face was impossible to read, but his eyes were twinkling. That was always a good sign as far as Remus was concerned. The headmaster flicked his wand at the far wall of his office and what looked like a silvery vaporous phoenix shot out of it and disappeared through the wall.

"We will wait just a moment," Dumbledore said before conjuring up some tea. They sipped in silence. "What does your next test entail?"

"I want you to tell the person you called exactly where the box is, and what it contains," Remus said, feeling a little odd giving orders to not only the Hogwarts headmaster, but the leader of the Order of the Phoenix.

"And if they cannot see the box?" Dumbledore questioned.

"Give them the parchment," Remus responded.

Dumbledore nodded, and smiled, "Come in Minerva."

The door opened and the Deputy Headmistress entered the office, smiling upon seeing Remus there and raising an eyebrow, "I assume that as your compatriots are not present you are in no trouble."

"Professor!" Remus mocked stunned outrage, "I am shocked to hear such an unflattering suspicion on your part!"

Dumbledore chuckled behind his desk, "We are attempted to find flaws in a new invisibility spell Minerva. Remus's notes on the work he is conducting for me are in a lockbox on my desk immediately to the left of my dish of lemon drops."

McGonagall's small smile changed to a pensive frown and she cast a few spells at the area of the desk mentioned. They all went right through the box, hitting the desk beneath it or objects beyond it. Finally McGonagall put her hand right through the box.

"There is nothing there Albus," McGonagall was still frowning, looking at the headmaster as if he was pulling some sort of joke on her. It was interesting to see that look directed at the headmaster instead of the Marauders.

"Read this Minerva, and concentrate on what it says," Remus noticed that the headmaster copied what Remus wrote onto another slip of parchment.

She read the parchment, even closed her eyes for a moment, opened them and shook her head. The headmaster's eyebrows both rose and a smile formed as he passed the parchment with Remus's handwriting to her.

"Oh my!" McGonagall touched the box as if to assure it was real. She looked back and forth between the headmaster and Remus. "Albus... what sort of spell..."

"Perhaps you would care to explain Remus," Dumbledore leaned back in his chair with a satisfied look and tented his fingers.

Remus almost felt like he was facing an oral examination. The last person he had talked to at length about this work was Edgar Bones. He felt a brief twinge of sadness in remembrance of his professor and the man's family before pushing it aside to focus.

"I'd been helping my father with his work for years before his death," Remus started, giving his Head of House the necessary background. "What I didn't know what that the work I was helping with was his work for the Order." McGonagall's eyebrows jumped and her eyes rounded.

"I was well aware that Simeon enlisted Remus's aid," Albus interjected.

"I could tell he was developing a new sort of ward, something not to just protect, but to hide," Remus paused in his explanation. "Dad got to the point where he could hide something, but only from those who didn't know it was there before. Anyone already aware of the object's existence and location could bring another in on the secret."

"You figured out how to change that," McGonagall had a gleam in her eye that Remus normally associated with James, her prize transfiguration student.

Remus nodded, "I'm the only one who can tell people where that box is, and what it contains, and I have to be specific when I do tell."

"You said you had some questions Remus," Dumbledore leaned forward.

"Yes sir," Remus answered. Dumbledore raise an eyebrow and Remus felt a slight flush rise on his cheeks. "Albus... Right now the charm is sufficient for hiding something like this box, or even a room I would think, but I'm guessing you have bigger expectations."

Dumbledore nodded and McGonagall just looked on, "Ultimately, I would hope to use your charm to protect safe houses. If Voldemort cannot find his top targets, he cannot attack them."

Remus felt himself nodding as he considered the possibilities, "I thought as much."

He opened the box and took out a thick roll of parchment, which he spread out on the desk. Both Dumbledore and McGonagall leaned in to peer at the diagrams and notes.

McGonagall shook her head, "I never had a head for figures."

"Nor did I," Dumbledore admitted. "Perhaps you can explain what you have here Remus."

Remus felt the flush on his cheeks deepen. These were two of the most powerful, intelligent people he knew, and they expected him to teach them. It was a heady, intoxicating thought, that he knew more about anything than they did.

He traced the feathered end of a quill over several symbols and drawings, "This is the basic structure of the spell. Initially, my father was building a ward, but I went in a different direction. What I have now is a Charm that hides a piece of knowledge in the soul of a wizard or witch, and links that knowledge to an object."

"How is the link formed?" McGonagall questioned, adjusting her glasses.

Remus took a deep breath, "Edgar and I had decided to look into ancient rituals as a foundation. There is nothing used now that can create such a strong link within a wizard's magic and soul. This summer I looked into old binding spells."

Both professors snapped their heads toward their student, but it was Dumbledore who spoke, "You did not perform this Charm within the castle."

Remus shook his head, "No. I suspect you would have known the instant I tried. I used the Shrieking Shack."

"Remus," McGonagall began in her lecturing tone.

Dumbledore held up a hand to interrupt her, "In this endeavor Remus is not our student Minerva, but an operative of the Order. Should any other member use borderline magic for our purposes you would not lecture them."

She bit her tongue and didn't continue but also did not look pleased.

Remus looked down, "It's a bit beyond borderline I'm afraid. I tried several other variations, but blood magic was the only magic powerful enough to work."

At that McGonagall hissed, "That is dark magic."

"And I am a dark creature," Remus countered. He understood her distaste for the magic, but he had an outlook on magic itself that very few 'light' wizards and witches would understand. To him, it was intent that was the stronger divide between light and dark. There was so much that the Ministry classified as 'dark' that was really just very powerful and therefore frightening to many. "The purpose of this Charm is to protect and hide in a way that only one living soul can betray the secret being kept. The person keeping the secret has to perform the charm, and so they are the one using their own blood to link the spell to their soul. There is no force involved."

The blood was pounding through his veins, and Remus felt personally insulted by his Head of House. He almost forgot that the headmaster was there at all, watching their interaction without interruption. He wondered if his Head of House thought of him as 'dark' like that, with a hiss of disgust in her mind. She had impressed him his first year, but was dangerously close to losing the respect he had for her.

McGonagall looked more than surprised. Remus had never talked back to her, or to any other professor for that matter. He always kept himself as calm as possible, never daring to draw attention to what he was. Here it was safer though, with others that knew what he was, and the headmaster to protect both of them.

"I am sorry Remus," McGonagall's eyes softened. "I often forget what you are, other than being an extremely talented and considerate young man."

Even that stung. Remus frowned, "I never forget."

McGonagall sighed, "No. I suppose you couldn't. Was it the only way?"

Remus nodded, "The, well, Secret Keeper, I guess we could call them, would be the only one with the knowledge once the spell is performed, so they are the only one who could perform the spell. Nearly every bonding ritual is conducted by a third party, binding together the two participants. If a second party was to perform the Charm, it would be impossible to complete it, so the Secret Keeper has to bind himself or herself to the secret."

"Blood magic is powerful," Dumbledore finally gave his input. "It is often assumed to be dark, but is only truly dark when the blood is used in a sacrificial manner by a third party. What do you need to complete your work Remus?"

"If I could work with someone who is an expert in warding...," Remus shuffled through his parchment to find the notes he made outlining several possible paths to explore from that point. Like his father, he kept these notes in French and encoded. Even if his friends found them they would never be able to figure out what was written. "To hide something as large as a house, or a property, I expect the Charm will have to work in conjunction with a ward. With people inside I might have to make some adjustments. They might not be able to leave without exposing themselves."

"I was afraid that might be the case," Dumbledore sighed. "This Charm would only be used in extreme situations anyway."

There was silence in the office while Remus packed his notes away again and shrunk the box, placing it in his pocket again. He finished his tea and saw that McGonagall did the same.

"I will see what I can do about bringing in a wards expert," Dumbledore said after a long pause. "There is no one in the school currently who is both qualified and has the time to commit to this project." By which Remus assumed that Dumbledore himself would be able to help, but had too many other responsibilities.

"Thank you," Remus stood and prepared to leave.

"No Remus," Dumbledore stood as well and held out his hand, "thank you. You may save many lives with this Charm."

Remus nodded as he shook the headmaster's hand like an equal, and was too overwhelmed to speak. He followed his Head of House out of the office and she paused on the stairs before exiting into the main corridors of the school.

"I do not consider you dark Remus," McGonagall stated softly, "no matter what the Ministry classifications state."

"But I am," Remus responded just as softly. "Perhaps it is your definition of dark that you might be reconsidering. Dark is not evil, not when it can be used for good. Being dark allowed me to safe Davey."

Remus didn't wait for dismissal, and didn't look back to see his Head of House watching him with deep respect in her eyes.

Along with the respect was a profound sadness that the times were making her young charges grow into adults before their time, sadness that the most promising wizard she had ever met would never be allowed to realize his potential because of an accident in childhood. A single tear was wiped away as Minerva made her way back towards her office, cursing the Ministry in her mind the whole way.

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	44. 43: The War is Brought Home

**Chapter Forty-Three: The War is Brought Home**

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As the winter holiday drew near the pranking between the sixth year Gryffindors ground to a halt. With exams looming they had less time for elaborate planning and stealthy late night missions. James and Sirius were determined to become Aurors, and were surprised to discover that Alice had the same career goal. The shy, quiet girl was certainly intelligent enough, but they didn't know if she had the aggression needed. The three of them could often be found studying for the Auror trials together in the Gryffindor common room, or in the library with Frank Longbottom.

James wondered more than once if Alice was applying to the Auror Corp because Frank intended to. The two of them were attached at the hip, or more frequently at the lips.

The final Hogsmeade visit of the term had the upper year students all excited. It was a large group going into the town that the Marauders were part of. James had enlisted Lily to help him with his Christmas shopping, and so the Gryffindor sixth year girls were joining the sixth year boys. Frank would naturally be with Alice, so a small group of Ravenclaws were with them as well.

Then there were the Hufflepuffs that attached themselves to the group once they neared Hogsmeade, as Yvonne rarely was able to spend time with her twin Robin when they were at Hogwarts. He brought with him some of his friends from his House.

It was a bit of a strange sight, as students at Hogwarts almost always segregated themselves based on their Houses. There would be a few couples of mixed House, but rarely large groups. Even James, who had by then slept with members of every Hogwarts House, though his friends would never know about his Slytherin connection, spent his social time almost exclusively with Gryffindors. The only frequent exemption was Frank Longbottom, as they were friends from childhood, though they were not nearly as close as they once were.

"Mudbloods," the word was whispered by multiple voices as a group of Slytherins shouldered through the large crowd of sixth year students, making it very difficult to pinpoint the identities of the voices.

Tension rippled through the crowd of which the Marauders were a part and Sirius, like a coiled spring, looked ready to leap forward and tackle the closest Slytherin, until Remus's hand fell on his arm like a vise.

"Don't," was the only word Remus spoke, but James saw the fire in his eyes, and knew that Sirius saw it as well. Ever since the Marauders had reconciled Sirius was eager to please Remus, and wouldn't dare go against him, especially in a situation like that.

Chastised, Sirius nodded and fought back against his inner demons.

"Filthy words from filthy minds," one of the Ravenclaws with them commented, just loudly enough for everyone around them to hear. The Slytherins shot back glares and sneers at them.

James put an arm across Lily's shoulders, noticing that she was still at the insult that was directed in part at her. He addressed the whole group loudly, "Don't let them ruin our fun. They couldn't possibly best us all when it counts, so they're just trying to get at us any other way they can."

Lily smiled then and James felt his heart flutter, both wishing it didn't do that every time she smiled at him, and praying to every god that could possibly exist that it would happen more often. He smiled back and then looked towards Hogsmeade, seeing a distinctive walk in front of him.

Severus... James hadn't heard his voice among the others, and hoped it hadn't been there. The Slytherin had come a long way, and actually tolerated Lily's company, but still wouldn't use her given name or stay in her presence any longer than absolutely necessary unless James was there as well. It was one of the only times James was glad he was pureblood. He never would have stood a chance with Severus otherwise.

He couldn't be caught staring though. James used a ridiculous number of cleaning charms whenever he was returning to his room at night, so Remus wouldn't smell the Slytherin on him. If anyone was going to figure out that the relationship existed, it was Remus. The combination of his enhanced senses and high intelligence made it almost impossible to hide anything from him.

The village of Hogsmeade was much larger than anyone might expect if hearing about the village from the perspective of a Hogwarts student. The main street of Hogwarts was lined with shops, which were the main focus of Hogwarts students on their weekends there. This street had at one end the train station, and at the other a turnstile that led towards the Shrieking Shack and the Forbidden Forest.

Beyond the shops were smaller streets with private homes, several of which were the homes of Hogwarts students. There were perhaps a dozen students who took advantage of Hogsmeade weekends to visit their families, and at least a dozen more families that wished their children would visit them on those days. Closest to the main street were row houses, and then free standing structures, spaced further and further apart.

Further away from Hogwarts, perhaps a mile or so from the furthest house, which was on a llama and alpaca farm that sold the fur to clothiers and carpet weavers who made finished products to sell in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley, were several large industrial style buildings. There was a candle factory, which provided Hogwarts with the candles that lit the great hall, the classrooms, the common rooms, and the corridors. Word had it that Dumbledore dipped his own candles for his office and infused them with phoenix tears to provide a soothing atmosphere. Another employed over twenty witches and wizards to operate the giant looms that made cloth for Madame Malkin, Madame Vestire, Gladrags, and several other tailors and seamstresses.

The vast majority of Hogwarts students had no interest in those factories, or anything beyond the shops on the main streets, and that held true for the large group of sixteen year olds that sat down to lunch in the Three Broomsticks, commandeering six adjoining tables for their use.

The butterbeer flowed and the food was plentiful. James saw Remus surrounded by Ravenclaws, gesturing before finally spreading out a napkin, transfiguring it to parchment, and taking a muggle pen from his robes to illustrate whatever point he was making. The Ravenclaws all leaned in and the pens passed from hand to hand as the conversation became more written than vocal. Several more pens and quills were produced, and Rosmerta eventually yelled at them for transfiguring her napkins and threw a stack of parchment onto the table for them.

"He should have been sorted into Ravenclaw," Alice commented with a smile as the Gryffindors all looked down the table to see what James pointed out.

Sirius shook his head, "Naw. Remus is a genius, and I mean that literally, but he's too... I don't know..."

"Marauder?" Lily offered with a grin.

James nodded, "Yeah. He's too Marauder for Ravenclaw."

There were nods of agreement. James and Sirius were intelligent enough to follow the discussions that Remus sometimes prompted, but their interest didn't last long unless whatever Remus was talking about had a mischievous application. That was rarer and rarer recently, but Remus also included the others in his brainstorms less frequently.

"What's he planning on after Hogwarts?" Beatrice asked the Marauders. "I'm thinking of applying to University. It would be a shame if Remus didn't apply, or apprentice with someone."

James took that one and lied smoothly, mixing in some truth, "Professor Bones had offered to take Remus on as apprentice, before the Death Eaters got the Boneses. I don't know if he's considered what to do now, but knowing Remus he has some plan."

"Were they close?" James could see Lily trying to remember how the former professor interacted with their friend.

Sirius nodded, "Yeah." James saw him swallow, as if realizing for the first time that because of him Remus had faced that alone.

"First his dad, then a mentor," Robin Diggory shook his head. "He's had it tough."

The Marauders all nodded sadly. None of them had been there for Remus when Professor Bones was killed. Remus hadn't let them anywhere near. They all reflected that they hadn't heard the man's name spoken even once, and James thought of their current Arithmancy professor. Remus did the same outstanding quality of work, but didn't participate in class as much, and never stayed behind to talk to Professor Vector.

"What do you guys think of Vector?" Frank asked, as if thinking along the same lines as James.

"She's no Bones," James proclaimed loyally.

Lily shook her head, "I like her, but she's not as engaging as Professor Bones was. You could see that he got all excited about equations and theories."

"He and Remus were two of a kind," said Alice with a nod of her head.

James lifted his flagon of butterbeer, "To the Boneses, may their loss not be in vain."

His fellow Arithmancy students followed suit, and they drank to their departed professor and his family. Even those who didn't take the class, and hadn't known him, joined in the toast. There were a few moments of silence.

"Have you heard from your Dad and Clive recently?" Frank asked James.

James shook his head, "No. They're too busy. Mum writes every now and then, but there's not much she can tell me."

A bit of a gloom had descended over them. James knew what was on all their minds. Any of them, or their families, could be next. The Death Eaters, for all their propaganda on pureblood superiority, didn't seem to distinguish between the ancestries of their victims. Anyone who opposed them was a target, anyone who refused to join.

The mood picked up again when James charmed Sirius's hair bright red, "Now you look like a Weasley."

"Speaking of," Frank mentioned with a grin. "Gideon told me his sister is pregnant again."

There was laughter around the table. The Weasley family was well known in the wizarding world for being one of the largest pureblood families. The last generation was odd in that it had only fifteen, the head branch having only two boys. Gideon Prewett's older sister Molina had married the older of the two.

"That's number three for her right?" James questioned, as Lily and the other muggle-borns looked on with something akin to fascination. "I wonder if she'll beat the record. What was it?"

Sirius was the one who answered, "Reginald Weasley in the fifteenth century had twenty-four children all to one wife."

There was a low whistle.

"Imagine if a Weasley married a Malfoy?" James wiggled his eyebrows. Laughter erupted from every pureblood and James took pity on the mystified looks of Lily, Bea, and a few others. "There hasn't been a Malfoy who fathered more than one child in centuries, and Weasleys are known for being very... fertile. Malfoys also always have pale skin, hair, and eyes, while Weasleys have fire red hair, mostly blue eyes, and more freckles than there are stars in the sky."

"Sounds like Arthur is doing his duty as a Weasley," a Hufflepuff James only vaguely knew commented.

James let out an exaggerated sigh, "Why does the Potter duty have to be training as an Auror."

Everyone there knew James wanted nothing more than to joint the Auror Corp like the rest of his ancestors had.

"As if you'd have any problem with a Weasley's duty," Rebecca Westerly, a Hufflepuff that James had met with on a few occasions teased from down the table.

"What's with you James?" Daniel, another Hufflepuff James knew who was sitting next to Rebecca asked a bit loudly. "I hear you're off the market, but everyone knows you're not dating anyone."

"I'm saving myself for Lily," James batted his eyelashes at her and she smacked his arm. They were veering into dangerous territory.

"As if there's anything left to save!"

James didn't know the voice, and couldn't see who it was down the table, but the comment provoked raucous laughter. James laughed along, but didn't find it very funny. Lily gave him a quick one-armed hug, and Remus caught his eye from down the table. The amber eyes of the werewolf were soft with concern and James felt a genuine smile. It didn't matter what all those people he barely knew thought. Everyone who was important knew him.

The group left the Three Broomsticks and dusk was already settling on the town. They had somehow grown in size, adding some fifth and seventh year students to their gathering, and even a few younger.

There was a bright flash of light that illuminated the whole village before it plunged into darkness again, leaving dancing spots of color in front of everyone's eyes. They were already disoriented when the loud boom echoed through and the ground shook beneath their feet.

James remembered what his father had told him about night vision and closed his eyes tightly for a few minutes. When he opened them he could see a pillar of flame rising in the distance. Once of the factories on the outskirts of Hogsmeade had exploded.

There were screams then, and he took a deep breath. Hogsmeade was under attack. James saw Remus flick his wand towards Hogwarts and something slivery shot out of it and towards the castle. He wondered for an instant why Remus hadn't taught them that one. It would make talking in class so... That was probably why.

"Prefects over here!" James had forgotten that the Head Girl had joined their party. He grabbed Sirius and Peter and joined the gathered students. "Potter, Black, you're not prefects."

"Duh, do you see a silver badge?" James snapped. "You need more than the prefects here."

She nodded and started giving out orders to round up the younger students and get them to Hogwarts as quickly as possible. "Black, Potter, take the joke store. Longbottom, Evans, the candy store. Everyone, search the alleys, get the students to the carriages quickly."

"I'll check the Shack," Remus volunteered.

VanDeun paused and nodded, "Take Biggs, Davis, and MacMillan with you, and be careful."

Remus nodded and grabbed James quickly before he ran off. He whispered in his ear, "Take them through the tunnel under Honeydukes if you have to."

James caught his friend's eye and squeezed his shoulder, "I will. Be careful."

It was more a warning to watch himself so he didn't give anything away, than to avoid getting hurt. James knew that if Remus let himself get angry enough it would probably take half a dozen Death Eaters or more to take him down, and they would be severely damaged by that time.

James and Sirius ran off together through the gathering darkness. A bell was ringing and there were shouts everywhere. Zonko's wasn't far away and they ran inside the shop, wands out. The clerk behind the counter gave them a hard look, "What is going on out there?"

"Attack," James said tightly. "Do you have a Floo connection?" The man nodded. James turned to Sirius, "Gather up any students in here. I'm calling Dad."

"I'll wait for you," Sirius said firmly.

James shook his head, "Get them to Hogwarts."

The clerk led James behind the counter to a back room and they could hear Sirius yelling at the students to leave whatever they were planning to buy and get together to get back to Hogwarts. James took some powder from the mantle and threw it in the fire before the clerk could say anything. He stuck his head in.

"Aaron Potter, Senior Auror, Department of Magical Law Enforcement!"

"James?" Aaron Potter's face came into view in his office.

"It's Hogsmeade Dad. One of the factories blew. We haven't seen any Death Eaters yet but they have to be here," James reported as quickly as he could.

"Where are you?" Aaron asked quickly.

"Zonko's," James replied. "The prefects are getting everyone back to Hogwarts. We volunteered to help. Sirius is getting the students out of here and I didn't know if the Aurors had been called."

Emotions warred on the elder Potter's face. Concern and pride were those that James could immediately identify and he felt his chest swell. He had made his father proud of him.

"Keep that fire open James and keep your wand out. I'll send a team through," Aaron Potter said, already sending several parchment origami birds flying out of his office. "Be careful son. I'm proud of you."

James stepped back and threw in another handful of powder. He turned to the clerk, "Aurors are coming through, but be ready in case someone else finds out the fire is open."

The man paled and nodded. James found the situation exceedingly odd. He was maybe half the clerk's age and he was the one giving the orders. It came down to personality and leadership, James decided. Some had the ability to lead, and others naturally followed.

The fire flared green and a stunner was at the tip of his tongue before James recognized the battle dress of the Aurors. His Uncle Clive was the first one. Clive searched the room with his eyes quickly before giving James a tight hug.

"Wait a moment and one of us will take you to find more students and take them back to Hogwarts," Clive commanded.

James wanted to protest, wanted to stay and fight, but knew he wasn't trained like the Aurors. He submitted reluctantly to the orders, knowing that when he became an Auror he'd have to take orders and obey whether he liked it or not.

Sometimes he hated growing up.

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	45. 44: Under Fire

**Chapter Forty-Four: Under Fire**

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Remus only really knew two of the prefects that had joined him to check the Shack for stray students. Alyssa Biggs and Michael Davis were the seventh year Gryffindor prefects. MacMillan was a seventh year Hufflepuff girl who had joined the group like James, Sirius, and Peter.

"Have you been inside before?" MacMillan whispered to Remus as they ran along the street, hugging the walls of the shops and stopping to check alleys. Every student they found they sent to the carriages and told them to keep their wands out and heads down.

The Gryffindors all snickered as quietly as possible. Remus smiled wryly, if they only knew, "Sirius Black and James Potter are my best friends. There isn't anywhere I _haven't_ been."

Remus let his senses open up and directed them ahead, smelling for other people, peering into the darkness, and listening for footsteps. Magic was heavy in the air and he wondered if an anti-apparition ward had been cast over the town.

"Who is licensed?" Remus asked quietly as they ducked into an alley. All three of them held up a hand. "Who's quiet?" None of them replied. "Shit." He gave them each a hard look, "Hold on a sec."

Remus concentrated and willed his body to the Shack, to his transformation room. Nothing happened.

"What is it?" Alyssa asked, lisping her s's for some reason.

"Anti-apparition ward," Remus told them, and all three paled in the darkness, "definitely an attack. Move as quietly as you can, and put up your hoods. Get rid of your House symbols and take off those damn prefect badges. They're too reflective."

Remus pointed his wand at his chest and charmed his Gryffindor insignia to black, putting his prefect badge in his pocket, and the others following suit. It was a little strange that the three seventh years were taking his orders, but he was the one that knew the Shack.

They made it to the edge of the buildings with little difficulty. Remus looked beyond the last shop and saw that there were several dark figures advancing towards the street. He hoped that someone had called the Aurors. If the Death Eaters got to the town before the Ministry did it might be a massacre.

"Death Eaters," Remus said, his hand back to prevent the others from trying to look. "I count at least ten. Stay low, behind the hedgerow. Don't try to fight them. They're more than a match for us."

He dropped to the ground and shimmied forward on his stomach, hoping the others would follow his lead. He made it to the edge of the hedges and squatted. He peeked over and saw that the closest Death Eater was only a few feet away, luckily not looking in his direction.

The Hogwarts students crept as quietly as they could towards the Shack, past the Death Eaters. Just over the fence that separated the Shack from the village they found three third year students trying to hide behind a tree. The prefects joined them and calmed the younger students. They held a quick conference.

"We don't want to take them back past the Death Eaters," Michael said firmly.

The others nodded and Remus looked at them intently, "Stay with them here, keep low and quiet. I'll check the Shack quickly since I know it. If it's clear we can hide there and one of us will go for help."

They all nodded again, though every one of them looked scared out of their wits at the idea of hiding in the haunted building. Remus moved with a stealth he got from the wolf, darting from tree to tree and picking his path so he didn't break any twigs and give his position away. He was glad there was no snow on the ground. Tracks would be a dead giveaway.

The Shack was empty, and Remus wrinkled his nose at the smells. The full moon was a few days away, and he was letting the wolf take some control. James continued to join him on full moons, but he still hadn't let Sirius come and Peter was waiting until they could all romp through the woods again. Things were getting better though... maybe this month...

Remus willed his thoughts away as he returned to the group, "Empty. Follow me and stay quiet, third years first, prefects behind them."

Without bothering to wait and see if his orders were obeyed Remus moved out. He picked his path carefully and went slowly so the others could keep up. They made it to the Shack and put the third years in his transformation room with the Hufflepuff to guard them. Remus, Alyssa, and Michael crouched behind chairs in the front room, just in case Death Eaters came in.

"Now what?" Alyssa asked.

"Know any message spells?" Michael replied.

Remus made it look like he was thinking hard, "I think I do. Either Dumbledore or McGonagall will stay with the castle to organize things there."

He flicked his wand and sent off his Order phoenix message bird again, a spell that only Order members knew. Whoever was in charge at the castle would know there was a group with younger students in the Shrieking Shack, essentially trapped. Remus considered using the trapdoor and tunnel, but would wait for a reply to his message first.

He didn't have much more time to think, as the front door opened and a figure in mask and cloak entered. Remus was going to wait until the door closed, but Alyssa shot off a stunner and the Death Eater fell half in and half out of the door.

_Fuck_, Remus swore to himself. He crept over to the door and saw that another Death Eater had been by the fence and was yelling for more. He pulled the Death Eater inside and locked the door with every locking spell he knew.

"More are coming. Cast every ward you know, and do it fast," Remus ordered. He ran up to his transformation room and stuck his head in, "Death Eaters are coming but we sent for help. I'm locking you all in here."

They nodded and he saw tears in the eyes of all three third years. The seventh year came out to help, "I won't be any good on my own if they make it past you three."

Remus nodded and steeled himself for a fight.

ooOOoo

Peter was in a group with a Hufflepuff prefect and the two fifth year Ravenclaw prefects. They were checking alleys for students, especially those trying to get back to Hogwarts from their homes in the village. He fingered his wand nervously. He was supposed to meet someone two streets over, in a little alleyway, and had to get the group over there.

How had he gotten into this? Then he remembered. Peter had been scared, and weak, and his friends weren't there to help him. They were all fighting with each other and none of them had time for little, no talent Peter. He should have known better, but he was stupid, like always.

_"What's wrong Pettigrew?" Peter jumped. The Hogwarts Express boarded the next morning and he couldn't wait to get home. The tension in his room was more than he could bear. Why was Sirius so intent on getting Snivellous? Why had James stepped in? Why was everyone so mad at each other? Sirius hadn't really done anything wrong. Snivellous was an idiot for listening to him._

_Narcissa Black stood there and waited for him for answer. She played with a strand of long blond hair and smiled softly. No girl had ever smiled at Peter like that. In that instant he forgot that she was a Slytherin, the enemy, and all he saw was a very attractive girl, smiling at him._

_Peter blushed and looked down, "Sirius played a joke that almost killed Snape and James turned him in, and now everyone is mad at everyone else."_

_"And they're all ignoring you," Narcissa finished for him, running a finger down his cheek._

_His breathing quickened and his trousers were suddenly very uncomfortable. Peter nodded quickly, "I don't know what their problem is."_

_She stepped closer to him, and he could smell her perfume, feel the heat coming off her body, "They don't understand you. They don't appreciate you."_

_He swallowed. She had cut straight to the heart of it. "They don't. No one does."_

_"You'll find someone who does," Narcissa cooed softly. She leaned in a pressed a feather-light kiss to his lips. Then she was gone._

_All the blood had rushed downwards and Peter rushed to find the closest bathroom._

Oh yeah, that was how he had gotten into this. A kiss here, a grope there, and he was telling her all about his friends, all about the Potters. But not everything Peter consoled himself, not everything. They didn't know about Remus. They didn't know about the animagi. The pack came first, the pack came first, the pack came first...

Peter repeated it to himself over and over, and they heard a little scream, coming from exactly where Peter was supposed to be.

"This way," he half-squeaked at the group, and ran towards the sound.

They followed, and some of them overtook him. Not only was Peter stupid, foolish, and nearly a squib, he was slow too. There were bright flashes, a barrage of spells, and Peter was the only student left standing. He shook in the face of the two figures, cloaked in black and masked in white.

One of them removed their mask and the other went to stand at the opening of the alley. Peter gasped when he saw the face of Lucius Malfoy.

The older wizard scoffed at Peter and rolled his eyes, "Please do not tell me you are actually surprised."

Peter gathered what little Gryffindor courage he had and shook his head, "N-no, I... I just..."

"Shut up," Malfoy snapped and grabbed Peter by the front of his robes. "Tell me about your precious... Marauders, was it? Yes, tell me how they are doing."

"They're... we're all friends again," Peter's breath was coming fast and harsh and he was shaking. "Remus forgave Sirius and so did James. James and Sirius are going to apply to be Aurors."

"And Lupin?" Malfoy asked in a soft drawl that sent shivers down Peter's spine.

He didn't want to answer but he knew he had no choice. Remus was the only one of them that never patronized Peter. He helped him because they were friends.

"I don't know," Peter answered, remembering their conversation earlier that day. "He was going to apprentice with Professor Bones, but he's dead now."

Malfoy nodded slowly and then pushed Peter against the wall in a sudden show of violence, "And what is he hiding? How did a twelve year old already have so much power?"

"I... I don't..." Peter stammered.

_Crucio!_

Peter screamed. He had never felt pain so incredibly horrible in his life. He wanted to die. He wanted to curl up and die. He wanted his friends to save him, but they were all busy. They didn't have time for Peter.

"What is Lupin hiding?" Malfoy leaned down and hissed in his ear.

Peter felt tears pouring down his face and was beyond embarrassment, "I don't..."

_Cru-_

"No!" Peter yelled. "No! Please, I'll do anything!" Malfoy gave him a hard look. Peter fell in on himself and started sobbing. "He's a werewolf. Remus is a werewolf."

Malfoy smiled. It was the smile of a predator. No matter what Remus was, he had never smiled like that. Peter was nearly hysterical then.

"Thank you Pettigrew," Malfoy brushed off his robes and stood, "and keep your hands off Narcissa or I will kill you."

Peter nodded, fully believing the threat, "You won't... won't tell... the Ministry..."

"Of course not," Malfoy smiled that frightening smile again. "The Dark Lord protects his own, and Lupin is one of us, whether he knows it yet or not. He will want the wolf to finish his education."

Peter just kept crying and Malfoy woke one of the other students and cast the Cruciatus Curse again, his mask back in place. He traded with the other Death Eater and she, by the sound of her voice, tortured a few others. They left them all there, crying and shaking in pain, and the woman cast one final pain curse on Peter, before leaning down to whisper in his ear.

"You heard Lucius," she hissed. "Leave my sister alone."

They left and Peter threw up. He had betrayed Remus far worse than Sirius had, and all he had in his defense was that the information was tortured out of him, while Sirius had given it up willingly. Right then Peter hated Sirius, hated him with a passion. Peter was far more of a Gryffindor than Sirius was. With that thought he passed out.

ooOOoo

Sirius had all the students who were in Zonko's together at the door, "Wait here."

He peeked outside and saw no immediate danger. He stepped out and the street was eerily clear. Windows were closed and there were very few people out, most of them Hogwarts students either running for the castle or ducking into the alleys to look for more students. Where were the professors?

"Black!" Sirius spun, that answered his question. Professor Flitwick was running towards him.

"I've got a group just inside," Sirius told the diminutive Charms Professor. "James is calling Aaron and Clive."

"Let's get them to the castle," Flitwick said.

Sirius opened the door and motioned for them to move, "Run!"

Black figures were coming from the far end of the street and Flitwick faced that way, "Get them to Hogwarts!"

"You can't take them alone!" Sirius protested.

"Go Black," Flitwick snapped, something the man almost never did, "that's an order!"

Sirius grit his teeth and nodded. Aurors would be there soon. He took up the rear behind the students and ran backwards, telling the oldest student there, a fifth year, to run beside him and keep a look out. Sirius deflected curses that headed their way and sent back as many as he could, well over Flitwick's head.

It was amazing watching the Charms professor. He had never seen someone shoot off so many spells so quickly... and so accurately. Sirius had heard that Flitwick was a dueling champion in his day, but hadn't really believed it until now.

There were screams coming from somewhere, but Sirius couldn't tell where. There was too much noise. The once quiet street was suddenly a battleground.

He saw Fenwick come out of the Three Broomsticks and send another group of students running towards Sirius and the castle. Sirius stood his ground and continued shielding the students against stray curses while Fenwick joined Flitwick. The two of them worked together so well... like they had done this dozens of time before.

Then Sirius remembered James's theory about Dumbledore's secret vigilante group. If it did exist, then the professors would certainly be members. They very well may have fought together like that dozens of times already.

The biggest group of students came from Honeydukes, huddled together as they ran. Most of the third years had been there, stocking up on sugar before the holiday. A few of them were hit with spells. There were too many to block and he couldn't risk hitting one of them as they raced by him.

Sirius went to one fallen girl and looked her over quickly, holding a shield on both of them as best he could, "Are you okay?"

"Hurts," she whimpered.

He took her cloak away and saw a cut across her back. It was deep, possibly even to bone. Sirius racked his mind for healing spells and cast as many as he could remember. The blood stopped flowing out of her, but the cut stayed open. She was crying, and Sirius knew she had to get to Pomfrey.

He swore and picked her up, debating on his best path, before dashing into Honeydukes just as he saw James run out of Zonko's with a bunch of Aurors. Sirius breathed easier. They could take care of the Death Eaters. He had to get this girl to the hospital wing.

Down the stairs, open the trapdoor with his wand, and Sirius was running down the tunnel, trying not to jostle the girl, who was clinging to him and crying. He wondered if this was how Remus felt when he saved Cyclops, full of adrenaline and not thinking of anything but the injured child he held.

"Poppy!" Sirius yelled at the top of his lungs, not caring that he wasn't supposed to use her first name. It wasn't important then. He was just outside the wing and he kicked the doors open.

The mediwitch came to him just as he stepped inside and took the girl from his arms. Sirius smacked his forehead. Why hadn't he thought to levitate her?

"Sit down Black," Pomfrey ordered, pointing to a chair.

Sirius sat and his head fell forward into his hands. Now that the girl, who he didn't even know, was safe he wondered about his friends. They had all been separated, and that wasn't good. If Remus thought any of them was in trouble he would freak.

Students kept coming into the wing, and Pomfrey put Sirius to work applying creams and handing out basic potions. There were several sprained ankles and wrists. One boy had fallen and two people had run right over him before others helped him up. He had severely bruised ribs and a broken arm.

Peter was brought in and he was a mess. There were a bunch of others with him and Sirius heard from someone that the group had run into a couple of Death Eaters. Sirius tried to go to his friend but Pomfrey ordered him to keep helping the minor injuries while she saw to him, promising he would be okay.

James turned up before long, having notified the Aurors and helped organize lists of which students were missing. When Pomfrey finally sent Sirius away it was late and he was exhausted and he still didn't get to see Peter, but James was still there, not having worked as long and hard as Sirius yet. Pomfrey gave him a quick hug and told him all the Marauders were welcome first thing in the morning.

ooOOoo

Remus could smell them, hear them, _feel_ them before they came. He looked at the other three in the room and wondered how he was going to handle this. Alone, he was a match for them, but with the others there he had to hold back... granted that the wolf let him.

None of these had attacked his father. He would have know, recognized their smells, and the wolf had have taken over completely and attacked, not bothering to wait for them to come in.

The Shack was shaking as their wards were dismantled. It would only be a matter of minutes, and Remus hoped that his message got them help in time.

There was a flash of fire and the four students pointed their wands to the new source, but all of them quickly lowered them and apologized when they saw who it was.

"No need," Dumbledore twinkled, but his face was hard, and the magic pouring off of him was amazing. Fawkes the phoenix sat on his shoulder, trilling softly. Remus felt almost euphoric in the wash of power. "Where are the younger ones?"

"Upstairs, back room," Remus replied automatically. The other prefects were in awe, never having seen Dumbledore ready for battle.

"Go with Fawkes," Dumbledore ordered, and three of the four older students jumped to obey as the brightly colored bird flew upstairs. They unlocked the door and went inside. There was a flash of flame and Fawkes and the rest of them were gone. "Remus, I told you to go."

Remus looked the headmaster in the eye, "I won't leave you alone sir."

Dumbledore smiled fondly and put a hand on Remus's shoulder, "I am honored Remus. Stay behind me."

"You forget sir," Remus said firmly. "I don't need your protection. It will only distract you."

Dumbledore shook his head, "At least follow my lead."

Remus nodded and smiled a wolfish grin. He felt his own power stirring up inside him and helped the headmaster take down the wards on the Shack. The door to the Shack blew outwards with just a twitch of Dumbledore's wrist and the headmaster strode outside, almost glowing with power.

One of the Death Eaters yelled, "Dumbledore!"

Several pops, too quiet for most ears, signaled the activation of Portkeys and all the Death Eaters that hadn't been caught in the initial stunners that Dumbledore and Remus sent out were gone. _Cowards_, Remus thought to himself. He followed Dumbledore as the old wizard ran towards the village with an agility that belied his age.

The Death Eaters were almost all gone by the time they got there, those few that were left falling quickly to the surprise attack from behind, and they met up with the Aurors in front of the Three Broomsticks.

"Remus!" Aaron Potter snapped. "What are you doing still here?"

"Calm down Aaron," Dumbledore interrupted. "He was with me."

Aaron nodded and continued to direct the carting away of captured Death Eaters and wounded Aurors. He was holding his arm and Remus saw blood seeping through his fingers. He instantly went to his friend's father, the man who had nearly adopted him, almost pack.

"Let me see that," Remus pried Aaron's hand away from his arm.

Another Auror scoffed, "You a Healer boy?"

"His son is my best friend," Remus said derisively. "I know more than my share of healing spells."

The Auror laughed loudly and Remus did his best to ignore it. Aaron did not however, "Get back to it Alastor. There are other injuries." Remus closed the cut and Aaron flexed his arm. "I hate to do this Remus, but can you help us out until the Healers get here?"

Remus nodded and ran to the next injury, healing what he could.

"Healer! Quick!" Remus jumped up and ran towards the voice, into an alley where the ground was littered with bodies. "I wanted a Healer, not a kid."

"They're not here yet," Remus snapped, then sniffed. "Peter." He darted to the crumpled form of his friend... pack... Remus inspected him thoroughly and started casting spells. His vision and focus narrowed. Nothing mattered but Peter.

"I'll just leave you to it then," the Auror gave Remus an awkward look, snapping out of his one-track focus and reminding him of the rest of the situation.

Remus snarled at him, "They've been hit with Cruciatus. At least cast some calming spells, if you're not good for anything else."

"Remus," Dumbledore's voice came from the end of the alley.

"Sorry sir," Remus apologized, though he didn't feel it at all. The man was a sorry excuse for an Auror if he couldn't help with post-Cruciatus, or recognize the symptoms. Remus had only seen it once and he knew.

When he had done everything he could for Peter he woke his friend, who looked up at him, "Remus?"

"Shh," Remus smoothed back Peter's hair, and helped him stand, "you'll be okay."

"Remus," Dumbledore interrupted, "not all of them were hit. They can help the others back. You're needed."

Remus nodded and handed Peter off to someone who smelled safe. He hugged Peter as tightly as he dared with the injuries and ran off to help the Healers who were just coming in.

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	46. 45: Drastic Changes

**Chapter Forty-Five: Drastic Changes**

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When Remus got back to his room he was worn out, but not nearly as he tired as he suspected a normal wizard would be in his place. The first thing he noticed as he stepped into the room was the smell of blood and he was no longer exhausted.

Sirius's eyes widened as Remus ran to him and started examining him, just like that day in the kitchen, "I smell blood."

"It... it's not mine... I was helping Pomfrey," Sirius stammered.

The anxiety bled out in one great rush and Remus hugged Sirius tight, "I thought you were hurt, like Peter. How's James?"

"Fine," Sirius said quietly, rubbing Remus's back soothingly. "He was drafted to help Pomfrey just before she kicked me out. She said Peter will be okay."

"I know," Remus forced himself to calm down. His pack was fine... well maybe not just then, but they would be. "It's just..."

Sirius just tightened the hug and Remus let himself sink into it, "I understand Remus. Don't worry about it."

It was another hour before James came back. It wasn't even curfew yet but they were too tired to do anything but lay still and talk. Dinner had been served in the common rooms and most of the prefects were helping the professors determine if any students were still missing. So far, everyone was accounted for, but the lists had to be checked over multiple times to make sure. A seventh year prefect had come to the common room more than once to get the names of everyone in the tower.

James, Remus and Sirius all slept on Remus's bed that night, holding onto each other for reassurance. Peter was awake when they got to the hospital wing, having actually gone to breakfast in the great hall. They figured that the professors would be keeping a closer eye on the students after the previous day.

Hogsmeade visits were cancelled indefinitely. The Floo connection to platform nine and three quarters was closed. The only access to or from the platform was from the muggle barrier.

Six students were dead. A Ravenclaw fourth year boy was hit on his neck with a cutting curse and bled to death before any help could come. Four students, a Gryffindor third year, a Slytherin fifth year, and two Hufflepuffs were dead by the killing curse. One girl, a fourth year from Gryffindor, had a heart condition that no one had known about. When she was hit by the Cruciatus Curse the stress on her body made her heart give out.

For once, the Marauders understood that it was not a time to play jokes to lighten the mood around the castle. Hogwarts was in mourning. There was a group of students that fashioned black bands for their arms, with thin, almost difficult to see, strips of color to represent the house of each student that had died. The bands became popular in the school at large, and even some Slytherins were seen wearing them. After all, they had lost a housemate too.

"Pass the bacon," James said at breakfast a month after the attack.

There were smiles again, and laughter in the corridors, but it was somewhat duller than before. The war had hit home. Every student in the castle knew someone who had been killed, someone they had lived with.

The Marauders had all stayed at the castle for the holiday. The Potters had simply been too busy to have three or four boys running around the Manor, and the Pettigrews refused to take in all four Marauders. Sirius half-jokingly suggested that they all go to Lupin Cottage for the holiday, but they didn't even bother to ask. There was no chance anyone would let them do that.

One of the second years, who was now confident in her hovering charms, levitated the plate of bacon to hover in front of James. He grinned at her in thanks, and her concentration wavered. Remus flicked out his wand and caught the plate just before it fell, though several voices asked why he hadn't let it fall on James's lap.

"Because then I wouldn't get any," Remus said calmly, putting the plate back and taking several strips of bacon for his own plate.

Dumbledore stood up at the staff table and waited for silence to descend on the hall. He smiled at the students, and most of them returned that smile. "I would first like to say how very proud I am of all you in how you have dealt with the troubles that have affected our community.

"The staff is all aware that many of you feel restricted and that the times we are living in are hard on all of you. To relieve some of the excess tension in the castle, and give you all something to do besides your homework on the weekends," there were several snickers scattered about the hall, "the first meeting of the Hogwarts Dueling Society will be held this Saturday here in the great hall."

Chatter picked up instantly as Dumbledore sat down and returned to his meal. The Marauders were not the only friends that exchanged eager looks and grins of anticipation.

Throughout the week Remus wondered why Dumbledore had made that announcement on a Monday. Hardly anyone paid attention to their lessons that week, and Remus's friends were no exception. He considered not letting them copy his notes to teach them to pay attention, but knew the lesson would be lost on them.

When Saturday came the hall was full, nearly every student in the castle standing in a crowd, waiting for the professor or professors who were to advise the Society. The Marauders were half-an-hour early, and they were not the first there. They did get spots right in the front though and Sirius was thrilled when he saw Flitwick and Fenwick enter the hall together, talking and gesturing.

"Welcome," Fenwick stepped up onto the dueling platform that had been put in the hall in place of the staff table. "I am glad to see so many have turned out. As you can see, Professor Flitwick and I will be teaching this group. We will be instructing you on the formal rules of dueling as used in competition, and will hold several of our own small competitions. If we are successful, we hope to continue through next year."

Professor Flitwick joined Fenwick on the platform, though some of the students still had to stand up on their toes to see him, "Let's begin with seeing what a few of you know. May I have some volunteers?"

Every hand shot into the air, with the exception of only a few. Remus was among those who did not jump up and down and wave his hand in the air, begging to be chosen. If there were competitions he would not be competing. It would be too hard to keep himself from competing to his best ability, and he couldn't have the attention from winning.

In the jostling of the crowd though, Remus felt himself pushed forward, and he stumbled towards the platform.

"Excellent, Mr. Lupin," Flitwick was in his usual high spirits and clapped with enthusiasm, "and... hm, someone from your same year... don't bother Mr. Black, Mr. Potter, we've all seen the two of you dueling with Mr. Lupin before..." Remus saw his friends both turn scarlet at the laughter that rippled through the crowd. "How about Mr. Snape?"

Remus felt his insides turn cold and saw that James, Sirius, and Peter paled. Snape scowled, but stepped forward anyway, urged on by his housemates. Professor Fenwick said something in an undertone to Flitwick, who looked nervous for a moment before recovering himself and putting his enthusiastic facade back on.

"Now," Fenwick stood between Remus and Snape, who were doing their best not to look at each other, "I am sure both of you know the basic rules, but we will go over them for the sake of our audience. The opponents will take turns exchanging spells. This is not a battle, but a competition of strength and knowledge. Your spellwork is restricted to that which is allowed in the castle, and the duel will be decided by disarming or incapacitation."

Fenwick stepped back and gave Remus a warning look, which he did his best not to acknowledge. The professor was fair with Remus, but always seemed wary, as though Remus might suddenly transform without the full moon forcing him.

"Bow, turn, walk ten paces, turn, and cast your first spells," Fenwick instructed. "Begin."

Remus and Snape bowed, though they did not make eye contact. Snape's face was a study in pure hatred and Remus felt his insides twist. He could smell the fear seeping out of Snape's pores. It was not a fair duel, and couldn't be even without Remus's added strength, not with Snape frightened to death of him.

_Stupefy!_

Snape shot his spell off almost before he had finished turning, and Remus blocked it easily. He tuned out the running commentary that Flitwick and Fenwick were giving the crowd of students.

_Locomotor Mortis!_

Snape's legs snapped together and he managed the counter before he fell, but he stumbled. He should have been able to block the hex. A fourth year could block that hex. Snape was too scared of Remus though, and Remus wasn't even putting that much power behind his spells. He was holding back in hope that Snape would be able to block.

A bright curse shot Remus's way, and instead of trying to block, as he wasn't familiar with the incantation, he stepped to the side, dodging, and firing off his own curse quickly.

They picked up the pace, hexing and cursing quickly. Remus almost smiled. Snape was good, better than Remus had known. If he only forgot who he was dueling Remus might actually be challenged somewhat.

It wasn't to be though. Snape faltered when they made eye contact for the first time, and Remus's spell hit dead on, disarming the Slytherin easily.

"Good job!" Flitwick jumped up on the stage and handed Snape's wand back to him. Snape took it quickly, as if he was completely vulnerable without it. "Well done both of you. Congratulations Mr. Lupin."

"Now form partners within your year group," Fenwick told the gathered students. "You will practice disarming only." The students began pairing off and spacing themselves out around the hall. "Mr. Lupin, I would like a word."

Remus followed his professor of the platform to a corner of the room where none of the students had gone, "I was holding back sir."

"I could see that," Fenwick frowned. "Filius should not have selected you. You have an unfair advantage over the other students." Remus nodded and tried not to look ashamed, though he felt perfectly wretched. "Mr. Snape knows what you are?"

"Yes sir," Remus responded quietly. "Professor Dumbledore made him promise not to say anything."

Fenwick nodded, "That was the big division in your little group earlier this year."

"Yes sir," Remus said again.

"Be off," Fenwick replied. "Should you choose to compete I cannot stop you, as that would be suspicious, but I highly advise against it."

"I was not planning on competing sir," Remus assured his professor. "It would be unfair to everyone involved."

He walked away then without waiting for dismissal. Remus had been making decisions all his life based on that one event in his childhood and he was not happy that his professor assumed he would be so reckless and foolish.

"You okay?" Sirius asked as he joined his friends.

Remus nodded and forced a smile, "Yeah. Fenwick just doesn't like me."

Lily disarmed James and Remus grinned. She turned to Remus, "How could he not like you? Every professor likes you."

Remus snorted and James retrieved his wand. He whispered in Lily's ear and Remus saw her jaw tighten. She shot a glare towards the professor, who was wandering around the hall then and Remus felt a sliver of relief. Not only did he have his pack, but he had no doubt that Lily would defend him to the world if his condition became known.

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"How could they do that to me?" Severus was steaming.

James tried to calm the Slytherin, but his hands were shrugged off and Severus stalked over to the window, opening it to let in the cold wind.

"I don't think Flitwick knows," James sighed and sat in a chair, "and I know that Fenwick didn't know, but he guessed today."

"They didn't know?" Severus turned with a confused expression.

"They know what Remus is," James elaborated, "but not that you know. So far as I know Dumbledore only told McGonagall and Pomfrey."

Severus still sneered, "How could they expect any student to duel against that..."

"Don't say it," James stood from his chair and glared. "Remus didn't want to be up there any more than you did."

"How can you defend him?" Severus was on fire that night, letting out all his pent up rage from earlier that day.

"Because he has no control over what happened to him," James wasn't backing down. They had argued about Remus before and he had no doubt they would again. "He was four bloody years old when he was bitten. What can a four year old do against a wolf? How can you blame a child that small?"

Severus's jaw tightened and relaxed, tightened and relaxed. James knew that the Slytherin had an instant of pity for Remus, or at least for the Remus of the past, but would never admit it.

"That doesn't change what he is now," Severus kept on his point. "You know perfectly well what I think of him."

James stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Severus, trying to get him to calm down at least a little, "And you know how I feel. He's family Severus, pack. Don't try to make me choose between you, because that is a choice I refuse to make."

"You and Lily," Severus finally released some of that tension and his body molded into James's. "The two of you will never give up on this."

"Just forget about it Sev," James whispered in his ear, punctuating his words with light kisses. "You did an amazing job up there. Remus was impressed."

"He was?" Severus's was completely mystified and for once the emotion showed clearly on his face. "But he was holding back."

"He's dueled all of us enough to know how strong we are," James grinned with just a hint of mischief. "Remy told me you're a better dueler than Sirius."

Severus smirked then, "Of course I am."

James laughed and kissed Severus full on the lips, "Cocky bastard."

"I'll show you how cocky I can be," Severus returned the kiss forcefully and pushed James up against a wall.

James felt his pulse start to race and he let Severus take complete control. The Slytherin needed it after being forced to face Remus like that. His hands were held above his head and Severus spelled their clothing off. James lifted his legs on Severus's cue and wrapped them around the Slytherin. They moved together perfectly, as if they had been doing this for years. James wished school could last forever. He didn't want to think about what would happen when they were sent out into the real world.

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James Potter was Dueling Champion that year. Very few seventh year students had competed, as they were all frantic with their upcoming N.E.W.T. exams, and those that had competed never had the hours of secret dueling practice that the Marauders had in their room.

No House Cup was awarded at the end of the year leaving feast. Due to the tragedy of the attack at Hogsmeade, the hall was decked in black draperies in memory of those students who were lost.

The Marauders, tipped ahead of time by Poppy Pomfrey, did not play an end of the year prank. Despite the fact that Sirius no longer had to return to his family and the Marauders were friends once more, the return trip to King's Cross on the Hogwarts Express was solemn.

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	47. 46: Celebrations

**Chapter Forty-Six: Celebrations**

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At first the summer was looking to be like any other. The four Marauders all spent a good deal of time at Potter Manor, swimming, eagerly anticipating the remaining two seventeenth birthdays of that summer, and working on their homework under Remus's watchful eye.

James remembered when homework was the absolute last thing he wanted to do, but somewhere along the line he must have grown up. It could have been the combined influence of Remus, Lily, and Severus, or it could have been that the Auror program required top performance. Whichever one it was, his reluctance to work on the assigned summer essays was completely feigned for Remus's sake.

Remus was well aware of the deception, but he let it continue, knowing that James had fun goading not only him, but Lily as well. Her seventeenth birthday was that May and after a few extra lessons at a center for muggle-born students at the Ministry, she got her license and started apparating to Potter Manor nearly every day. There were also several days that all four Marauders showed up at Lily's house, to the great surprise of her parents and horror of her sister the few times that she was there as well.

"Does he know that we know?" Lily leaned over and whispered to Remus.

They were all stretched out on the lawn with books, parchment, and paperweight charms from the legal adults among them. Remus's birthday was that summer, as was Peter's, so Peter was the only one not able to use magic out of school legally yet. He wouldn't really be able to that summer anyway, as his birthday fell on the last day of August. The others were planning a day of dueling fun, just so Peter had a chance to use magic out of school before they graduated.

Remus smiled and looked over to James, who was working on his Potions homework with Sirius

"Who knows?" Remus shrugged. "I can tell if he's lying, but only if he actually says something. Oh, I know there are things he's hiding. No matter what the Code says we all have secrets."

Lily looked intrigued, "But you don't know what he's hiding?"

Remus shook his head slowly, as if thinking out his answer, "No."

She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something more, but she was interrupted by Viviane poking her head out the door, "Remus! You have a fire call."

They all looked at him and Remus shrugged. He had no idea who was calling him, as anyone he would normally expect was there. His books and parchment were neatly packed away in his bag that was slung over his shoulder as he went inside after Viviane.

"Which one?" Remus asked, knowing there were multiple fires in the Manor connected to the Network with varying levels of security.

"Study."

Remus raised his eyebrows and quickened his step. In Aaron's study only the Ministry or Hogwarts could call. Remus highly doubted that the Ministry would call for him in Aaron Potter's study, so it had to be Dumbledore. His deduction was verified when he stepped in the room and saw that Aaron was actually home, while the Marauders had thought he was on duty at the Ministry, and talking to Dumbledore in the fire.

"Good morning Remus," Dumbledore said as he noticed the almost seventeen year old wizard appear in the doorway.

"Morning Aaron, Albus," Remus put down his bag and shut the door. A quick glance out the window showed that Sirius and Peter had stopped working and were horsing around. The others would be drawn in soon and no more progress on school work would be accomplished that day. Sirius had made it his mission of late to get Lily to lighten up and join in on the fun.

"A friend of mine has expressed interest in working with you," Dumbledore told Remus. "I have also learned that Voldemort's interest in you is growing. His connections in France have copied your file at their Ministry."

Remus felt his throat go dry and his chest tighten, "So they know."

"Remus," Aaron laid a hand on his shoulder. "We won't let them get you without a fight."

Remus just nodded, barely hearing what his friend's father was saying, the empty reassurances that the Death Eaters would at least wait until he finished at Hogwarts to try to recruit him. It was all he could do not to run, to leave the country and find someplace to hide as the wolf urged.

"I'd like you to stay with them for a few days... Remus?" Dumbledore looked concerned.

"Sorry?" Remus snapped out of it and gave the headmaster his concentration. "I'm sorry... I knew when they found out... and they would eventually... I just..." Remus shook his head and gathered his wits about him. "You were saying?'

He ignored Aaron. Remus could feel his pity and hated it.

"My friend Nicholas and his wife Perenelle have offered to help you complete your Fidelius Charm," Dumbledore said plainly. "You are welcome to stay in their home whenever you need to."

Which meant that they didn't want Remus staying at his father's house alone and vulnerable. Whether they were concerned for his safety or worried that he might actually join You-Know-Who if the pressure was hard enough Remus didn't know. It didn't really matter though. If it put their minds at ease Remus would go. He nodded, "I just have to get some things together first. I've been concentrating on my homework first. I'm just about done."

Aaron laughed, "I never even started this early in the summer."

A little light went off in Remus's mind, "You said Nicholas and Perenelle. You mean Nicholas and Perenelle _Flamel_?"

Dumbledore smiled, "Indeed I do. They were very interested in the work you've been doing."

Remus's throat went dry for the second time that morning, but for an entirely different reason. He was going to work with two of the most famous wizards in the world. The rest of the day was a blur of packing the things he needed to work on the spell and for a few nights stay. Aaron agreed to pass along some sort of explanation to James and the others about Remus's absence, and Remus left through the fire for first Hogwarts and then his trip to the Flamel home.

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"What?" Peter squeaked as all the Marauders, minus Remus but plus Lily, sat in James's room.

"You-Know-Who knows what Remus is," James repeated, "and since he's been trying to recruit dark creatures he'll target Remus. After all, how many of them have a Hogwarts education? Dumbledore sent him into hiding for a while. He can come back here sometimes, during the day only, but we can't know where he stays at night."

Sirius's jaw dropped, "How did they find out?"

"The French Ministry has it on file," James sighed and flopped onto a chair. "Remus's name came to his attention somehow, and it wouldn't be too hard to figure it out from there with his resources."

"I have to get home for dinner," Peter said in a shaky voice, which the others contributed to concern for Remus. It was all Peter could do not to confess his sins and beg for help as he ran across the grounds headed for his own house. But he didn't turn back, didn't ask for help. This betrayal they would never forgive. He was alone.

"It's my fault," Sirius choked out. "My family looked into who he is because he's my friend and we know they're connected to _Him_."

"We don't know that," James firmly insisted. "You've said it yourself. Your parents aren't Marked. I bet they check the background of half the Hogwarts students looking for potential followers. If anything it would be his connection to this family that brought him to You-Know-Who's attention."

There was a heavy silence, only broken when one of the house elves popped into the room to announce dinner.

"I suppose I should head out too," Lily stood and hugged both James and Sirius. Though he rarely showed it, Sirius Black did have some maturity. She saw at times like these, when his friends faced trouble.

"Come back later and we'll work on Astronomy?" said James hopefully.

Lily smiled and nodded. Sirius had dropped that class so it would be just her and James, one of the rare times they had without Sirius in attendance. She went downstairs with James and Sirius and said goodbye to the Potters before leaving the grounds to apparate back to her parents' house.

It was dark when she returned to the Manor with her parents' grudging permission. With all the ambient city light it was difficult to do her Astronomy homework at home, and they knew that Potter Manor was in a remote location with almost no light pollution. It also helped that they had met Viviane, and both her parents had been truly impressed by James's mother.

They finished the work fairly quickly, as the assignment was not difficult, and leaned back against the parapet. The silence was nice, comfortable, and Lily could feel the heat from James's body close to hers. Sometime during the school year she had come to understand that she returned James's feelings, and wondered just how long it would take him to act on them.

"Lily?"

"Yes James?"

"Do you think Remus is okay?"

She turned her head and studied his face. He was deep in thought. Years ago she had not thought James Potter capable of such introspection.

"I think he'll be fine," Lily responded honestly. "Remus is a survivor. I pity the Death Eaters who try to take him on."

At that James grinned and dropped the subject. He scooted a little closer to her and Lily leaned against his shoulder. She smiled and took one of his hands in hers, pressing it between her palms and marveling at how much larger his hands were compared to hers. His palms and fingers were roughened, callused from all the Quidditch.

"Lily?" After a time he spoke again.

"Yes James?" She wondered what was with him tonight. He was never this quiet or still.

"Can I kiss you?"

Rather than answer Lily turned and pressed her lips against his. It was a slow and gentle kiss, better than any other kiss Lily ever had, and when it ended James was grinning like an idiot. Lily suspected she didn't look too different though. Her cheeks almost hurt from the size of her smile.

"Will you marry me?"

Lily almost choked, and then started to laugh, "We're not even dating!"

"Well," James was starting to act nervous, "you always said no to that. So I figured if I was going to get a yes I better just jump ahead, rather than ask the question that always got a 'no'." He took something out of his pocket and Lily's breath caught in her throat. "Lily Elizabeth Evans, will you be my wife?"

"Yes," Lily half whispered and held her hand out. "Yes James, I will."

He slipped the ring onto her finger and she looked at it in amazement. It had to be at the very least four hundred years old, and a Potter family heirloom. The gold was filigreed, and Lily had never seen a jewel like the one on her hand. It was like a diamond, only more so than any diamond she had ever seen. The facets reflected light almost magically and she wondered if the ring was charmed. Tiny rubies surrounded the diamond and she guessed that if she sold the ring she could probably buy her parents' house with the money.

She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him again, but with much more passion this time.

It was a kiss that had waited years to happen, that had built up in the minds of both participants and lived up to every expectation. Lily felt his hands trying to touch every bit of her at once and for the first time with any boy it felt perfectly right and her body cried out for more, for everything. Right then she would have done anything he asked of her, but James pulled away.

"We should tell my parents," James jumped up and held his hand out for her.

Lily smiled and took his hand, then her thoughts went ahead a few hours, "What about my parents?"

"We'll tell them right after," James did not get her point at all.

"James," Lily said in a firm tone, "I'm only seventeen, you're only seventeen."

His brow furrowed, "So? The old traditional families still arrange marriages. If Siri still lived at home he would have been engaged by last summer at the latest. My mum was fifteen when Dad proposed, though he was nineteen."

"So this is normal then?" Lily felt a little relieved but didn't think her parents would understand all the same. Maybe if she got Viviane to talk to them it would be better.

James nodded fervently, "Frank is just looking for the perfect moment. He's been wanting to ask Alice for over a year now."

"Really?" Lily felt a surge of happiness for her friend, and then it really hit her. She was getting married. She and Alice could plan together. Her roommates would be her bridesmaids, and James's roommates... Well it would certainly be an interesting wedding.

They went downstairs, and the instant they entered the great room Viviane saw their linked hands, and then the ring on Lily's finger. She squealed and pulled Lily into a tight hug, then smacked James on the back of his head.

"When did you take that ring out of my room young man?" Viviane questioned her son, though she was completely unable to convey any disappointment.

"Weeks ago Mum," James answered honestly with a smug grin as his father hugged him and Sirius swept Lily off the floor and spun her around in a circle.

"I've got to Floo Clive, and Albus, and Jesse...," Aaron continued listing off people to notify as he dashed up the stairs to his study.

It wasn't long before Clive Potter tore down the stairs, "Where is the girl who's finally captured my rascal of a nephew?"

Sometime in all the merrymaking Lily managed to pull Viviane aside and request her help in explaining wizarding traditions to her parents. Viviane agreed and apparated away with her immediately. It took them some time, but the Evanses got caught up in the excitement and came back to the Manor with them where an impromptu party had started.

"When is the wedding?" a voice called out.

Lily didn't know all of the people there, but supposed she would eventually. Most of them were Aurors, and it was obvious which of them were on duty soon as they were the ones not drinking the champagne Aaron had ordered the house elves to pour. She exchanged a glance with James, who answered the question for her.

"We haven't discussed it yet," James said loud enough for the whole room to hear, "But I was thinking of after my training." He turned to Lily. "I'd hate to marry you right out of Hogwarts and then practically ignore you for a year. That will give us plenty of time to plan, and for you to train for your job as well."

Lily smiled, knowing that many of the people in the room had never seen this side to James before. Her parents looked notably relieved that their daughter wouldn't be married quite as young as they thought. They had been in a state of awe for hours, seeing much more of the wizarding world than ever before. The first time a house elf had popped up near them her mother had yelped.

"What work are you planning on dear?" one of the Aurors asked her, giving her a friendly kiss on the cheek. Lily hadn't ever been kissed this much.

"I was thinking of joining the Obliviators," Lily responded. She had discussed the matter thoroughly with both James and Remus, and even Severus once he had loosened up and accepted her.

James grinned, "She has the record high O.W.L. score in Charms, tied for top of our class overall."

"I'm sure you'll be accepted," Viviane came to her side again and raised her champagne flute in the air. Everyone's glass refilled on its own. "To Lily and James!"

"Lily and James!"

There was the clinking of crystal and James kissed her for perhaps the twentieth time in front of the crowd that night. Lily had no illusions that she would have him all to herself though, and in a way she was glad. She didn't think any one person could handle the ball of pure energy that was James Potter. Somewhere Severus would fit into this as well. They just had to make sure he knew... and that he found out before the _Prophet_ reported the engagement. Lily would make sure James sent off an owl that night.

He was one of two people missing from that evening and for a brief moment her mind went to the other, to Remus. She would make sure he knew he was always welcome in their home, and that their children would be his as well. Lily was determined that Remus would always have a home, would always have a family.

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Remus choked on his breakfast and started laughing. Perenelle, or Ellie as she insisted he call her when he arrived late the night before, looked over from the stove. She insisted on cooking the muggle way, saying that when she was girl they didn't have all those fancy cooking charms and food tasted better if it was prepared with two hands instead of a wand.

It had taken many more hours than were necessary to get from Hogwarts to wherever it was that the Flamels lived. Remus found that after all the crazy turns, loops, apparitions, and Portkeys even _his_ senses were mixed up and couldn't quite figure out his location. His hosts had laughed at his guide, an Auror by the name of Alastor Moody, and asked him how many times he had doubled back during the trip. Apparently James had not exaggerated, for once, when he told his friends how paranoid the man was.

"And what is so funny?" Ellie looked back at Remus from the stove. Nick, as Nicolas had insisted on, had not yet joined them.

"You know the Potters?" Remus was still trying to figure a few things out. The Flamels were clearly Order members, but they were reputedly recluses, and he could not imagine them attending meetings.

Ellie smiled, "We knew the Potters of several generations back. Indeed, I believe that Nick's cousin was married into the family. We know of Aaron and Viviane, but have never met them."

"Their son James is one of my pack," Remus had been shocked to learn that they knew what he was before inviting him into their home. On the brief tour the night he arrived they had even showed him the room they had prepared and warded, better than any warding he had ever sensed apart from Hogwarts itself, for his transformations. "He just became engaged," Remus held up the letter, "and he asked the girl before even dating her."

She laughed, and once more Remus had to remind himself that she had lived for several hundred years though she looked only thirty or so, "Things have changed since my day of course, but even then we of the 'common' people generally courted for at least a few months before agreeing to wed."

Nick entered the room then and sat down by Remus. His eyes were bright, almost the same way that the Headmaster's eyes twinkled. He seemed eager, "Tell us of your new Charm Remus."

"Give the boy time to breathe," Ellie chastised, waving a spoon at her husband.

"I did not ask him last night!" Nick defended himself, reminding Remus slightly of James.

Remus laughed and began to explain the Fidelius Charm and noted that both Ellie and Nick paid close attention, interrupting with questions periodically. The conversation was halted for breakfast, as they apparently never discussed work over meals, and resumed in a workroom after, with Remus's notes to help his descriptions.

"And you wish to tie this to a ward...," Ellie bent her head over the parchment and started making her own notes on a clean sheet.

"Yes," Remus watched her work, anxious to finally see his labors come to fruition, "the Headmaster wants to use the Charm to hide people who are targeted by You-Know-Who."

Nick looked up sharply, "Say his name Lad. We've seen Dark Lords come and go, and none of them deserve that kind of abject fear."

Remus nodded, "Right then... Albus wants to have a way for," he took a deep breath, steeling himself, "Voldemort's targets to be safely hidden from him."

Both the Flamels smiled and exchanged a look. Nick spoke for both of them, "We told Albus already that we would help you, but the bargain is between you and us, not Albus and us. We will work with you, and open our home to you. We ask only one thing in return, which may potentially benefit you as much as us."

He was intrigued and Remus tried to think of what they could possibly mean, "And that is?"

"You may know that I specialized in Alchemy, which predated the current study of Potions. Ellie is the one who is fascinated with warding and ritual magic," Nick pulled a few scrolls from the shelves covering one wall. Ellie did not even look up from Remus's notes. "My latest endeavor has been an attempt to find a cure for lycanthropy, or at least to ease the transformation. All I am lacking is a test subject. There is risk involved. Both Ellie and I are fully qualified Healers and will do our best to keep you from coming to harm."

"You mean...," Remus could not even fathom the possibility of a cure. Just the chance that it might be possibility... any amount of pain would be worth contributing to such a discovery. "Anything, I'd do anything for..."

"I will need to observe your transformation, and it is possible that some of the trials will be even worse than what you already face," Nick cautioned Remus with a steady gaze.

But he didn't care. Remus could feel his heartbeat echoing in his head. They were potentially promising him the world and asking so little in return, "I'll do it. You have no idea..."

Ellie looked up then and came around the table to hug Remus tightly, "There now. Save your thanks until he actually accomplishes something."

"Your confidence in my skills is heartening as always my dear," Nick grinned at his wife.

She swatted his arm and went back to her parchment, "Now Remus..."

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	48. 47: The Celebrations Continue

**Chapter Forty-Seven: The Celebrations Continue**

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Remus could never remember feeling quite as ill as he did the morning after the second to last full moon of the summer. On top of the pain from the transformation, which was no worse or better than usual, his stomach was heaving and his head pounding. He could not even keep water in his stomach, and the anti-nausea potions that Nick attempted to medicate him with found their way into a basin along with anything else that got past his lips. His throat burned and his back felt like a herd of thestrals had stampeded over it.

Ellie sat by his bed all day, wiping his forehead with damp cloths and cleaning up after him whenever his body decided to empty its contents. Dehydration would quickly set in if they couldn't get some water into him sometime soon.

Nick was in and out of the room, mumbling about various extracts and potion ingredients. He had drawn several vials of Remus's blood at the varying stages of the moon. It was his second trial run of potions, and that month he had taken dosages at each quarter of the moon, all of which had left him nauseas and disoriented.

"Why?" Remus questioned them the day that he finally kept some water down and was able to get out of bed.

Nick looked more guilty than Remus had seen anyone look, even more so than Sirius had when he confessed what he did to Snape. "I am sorry Remus. I thought for sure that the milkweed sap would balance the aconite..."

Remus shook his head, and found that the symptoms were not quite passed. He had to grasp the table to keep his balance and let his head clear, "No. I mean why are you doing this? Why do you care? Most of the world sees my kind as monsters, less than human."

The look that Nick gave him then was like he was trying to figure something out, trying to puzzle together something about Remus, "I assure you Remus that you are human. I have known my share of monsters, and very few of them have fangs or claws. People are the most violent creatures on this Earth, the only ones to kill each other off with such brutality and regularity, which is one reason why Ellie and I choose to limit our contact with them."

There was a long pause, during which Nick handed Remus a vial of some potion or another and Remus drank it quickly. He had learned over the years that most potions tasted worse than the one attempt at cooking Sirius had made a few years back, and it was best to drink them as fast as possible and follow up with as much water as he could.

"As for why I have chosen this potion to study there are many reasons, some of which are too personal to share," Nick's eyes were stern, the only part of him that showed his age and accumulated knowledge. Remus could see the echo of ages if he looked into either Flamel's eyes for too long. "There is the challenge of course, the same reason Ellie and I first sought after the formula for crafting the Stone," by which he meant the Sorcerer's Stone of course. "There is also the simple fact that not one creature, be he human or otherwise, deserves the suffering that you experience each month."

Remus nodded, and the talk went back to how to anchor a charm to a ward, especially a charm that was cast in a blood based ritual. The subject of why Nick was trying to cure werewolves of their affliction was never revisited.

They were no closer to a solution when Remus left their home only two weeks before the start of the school year. He had exchanged letters with his friends, but had not seen them at all. Knowing that he would have to be escorted back and forth by Alastor Moody, who was now included in the few that knew Remus was an Order member, made Remus reluctant to leave his temporary home.

He was also having perhaps the best summer of his life, even with the terrible side effects from the attempts at a lycanthropy cure. Nick and Ellie were wonderful company, and simply knew more about everything than anyone he had ever met. They could discuss any subject Remus broached in depth, and their ideas behind magical theory were the most realistic and intriguing that Remus had ever heard. He was learning more from them in the few months he had at their home than he had in all his years at Hogwarts. He was going to miss the intellectual stimulation when he was surrounded by his contemporaries again.

The Flamels were also the gentlest, nicest people Remus had ever met. They had seen centuries of war and political struggle and found that life without both was much more to their liking. While they did research for the Order and aided Albus with their analysis of any information he sent their way, they refused to fight or become involved directly. They had their share of death and destruction long before even Albus was born. After only a few days, they had begun to treat Remus like a son. At their home he felt more at peace than he had since before his father had been killed. Even his pack had not been able to fill the void from his father's death.

"Remus!"

James pounced on him as he stepped out of the Floo, Sirius and Lily not far behind. Remus kissed Lily on the cheek and held her hand to look at the ring, which was easily the most beautiful piece of jewelry Remus had ever seen, clearly enchanted to some degree.

"Gryffindor colors of course," Remus commented with a grin. Only the Potters would have their heirloom engagement ring crafted in red and gold. It would be in bad taste to ask what charms were on the ring unfortunately. "Congratulations Lee, Prongs."

"Where have you been hiding all summer?" Sirius asked eagerly. His friends had clearly been trying to figure out where Albus had stashed him for the past couple of months.

Remus shook his head, "I'm not allowed to say."

"Aw come on Moony," James batted his eyelashes and pouted. "We won't tell."

Lily shook her head and slipped an arm around her fiancé's waist, "Don't push. If Remus says he's not allowed to tell, than he won't. It's not his secret to reveal."

Remus smiled his thanks to her. James immediately backed down, and so did Sirius much to Remus's surprise. It looked like they had been conquered finally and Remus couldn't help a slight chuckle.

"What?" Sirius asked him.

"You," Remus pointed at him, and then at James, "both of you. At least James has an excuse, but she's got you both whipped."

"Does not!" James protested.

Sirius agreed loudly and they both jumped at Remus. He dodged them easily and took off, not missing that James only started his pursuit after giving Lily a quick kiss on the cheek. He greeted both Aaron and Viviane as he dashed past them, Sirius and James hopelessly trying to keep up as he led them all over the Manor. The Potters replied casually to the blur of a boy, not at all fazed.

His fellow Marauders were completely winded when Remus stopped the chase at the red room, the bedroom assigned to him every time he visited the Manor. They both collapsed on Remus's bed, panting and complaining that Remus hadn't even broken a sweat.

"That's what you get for chasing a werewolf," Lily teased from the doorway. She exchanged a smile with Remus, "It's nice to have you back. I've had to handle them both all by myself."

"You seem to have managed well," Remus couldn't keep himself from laughing at his exhausted packmates. "I assume their homework is finished."

Lily nodded, "Even Peter is done."

"Where is he?" Remus asked. He could only barely detect the other boy's scent in the Manor.

James shrugged as he slowly sat up, "He's been in and out all summer. You'll never believe this."

"Yes?"

Sirius grinned, but didn't move otherwise, "He's dating a Hufflepuff."

"Who?" Remus was happy for his friend, even if he felt a twinge of jealousy.

James shook his head, "Never met her myself..."

"That's probably a good thing," Sirius chuckled and held his hands up to ward away the pillow that James flung at his head. "I doubt Peter could handle one of your former associates."

"...but Peter said her name is Amanda I think," James continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "She's taking Divination with him."

Sirius sat up then, "Did he even tell us her surname?"

"I don't think so," James wrinkled his brow.

"Well it's no wonder," Lily said in a scolding tone. "The way you two tease him I'm surprised he told you about her at all."

Sirius and James had identical looks of mischief then, "Well he really had no choice."

"We wouldn't have removed the horns otherwise," James finished Sirius's thought.

"They were beautiful too," Sirius sighed, "all curly... and bright orange."

Remus shook his head and laughed, "Pictures?"

"What do you take us for M. Moony?" Sirius sounded offended and ran out of the room, returning shortly after with a box full of snapshots, from which Remus discovered that the horns in question had not just been on Peter's head. The two other Marauders proceeded to detail ever prank of the summer that Remus had missed, including those originated by Aaron and Clive. Viviane had frequently found her darkroom occupied that summer.

Lily groaned and fell back on the bed with a pillow pressed on her face. Remus leaned down to her, "Sure you want to marry this buffoon?"

"I wonder that myself every day," Lily said through the pillow.

"Hey!" James protested and ripped the pillow away.

Lily was grinning beneath it and pulled James down for a kiss, which lasted much longer than Remus was comfortable observing. Sirius ignored them though, and brought Remus's attention back to pictures and pranks, making Remus think that such public displays were all too common that summer.

Peter showed up later that day with his cheeks bright red, and Remus had no doubts where his friend had been. James immediately grabbed the smaller Marauder in a headlock and rubbed his knuckles in Peter's hair.

"You missed the Return of Moony!" James chastised him. "What kind of a Marauder are you?"

"Erm... a Marauder with a headache?" Peter answered with a nervous chuckle. James released him and Peter tried to straighten his hair, "Will you ever stop doing that?"

"If you ever get taller," James grinned.

"Hey Wormtail," Remus waved to the last Marauder from his spot on the couch. He was engaged in a debate with Lily and Viviane about the effectiveness of mood altering charms, and whether they should be used medically as they didn't actually solve problems. Remus argued that fixing symptoms while not addressing the underlying cause did not help the patient, where Lily protested that fixing the symptoms would allow the patient to address the causes with greater ease, and Viviane was playing Moderator.

"I think that's enough for me today. I have a fundraiser to plan," Viviane halted their discussion and stood up from her seat. "You should come by more often Peter." She hugged him on her way up the stairs.

Remus followed her lead and hugged his friend, who had actually grown somewhat. He was easily an inch or two taller than when Remus had left the Manor earlier that summer, "I missed you guys."

"We missed you too," Peter's eyes darted nervously to James and Sirius, who were clearly planning something. "Those two definitely need you around to stop them from getting crazy. Lily wasn't always here."

Sirius charged then, and scooped Peter up, holding him over one shoulder and running outside with Peter yelling, "Not in the lake again!"

"Have you been torturing him all summer?" Remus frowned at James.

James shifted for a moment, "Not really. I mean... we're no worse to him than we are to each other. Sirius has dumped Lily in the lake at least ten times."

"Try fifteen," Lily snorted. "The last time I was wearing a white shirt!"

James grinned and lifted his eyebrows at Remus suggestively. Lily scowled and punched his arm. James rubbed it, but never stopped grinning, "You got him back though."

"Ah, that was my best Transfiguration yet," Lily had a look of fond remembrance.

"What did you do to him?" Remus questioned a bit reluctantly. He had seen some of Lily's revenge before and knew she could more than hold her own against his fellow Marauders with or without his moderating influence on them.

"She gave him his own set," James held his hands cupped in front of his chest, "complete with wet white shirt. Sirius was rather stacked for a bloke."

Lily was grinning, "He couldn't reverse it and had to sit through dinner like that."

"Hasn't even thought of dropping her in for at least a week," James chuckled at Sirius's expense. "Those pictures are hidden where he can't find them."

"I wish Peter would fight back," Lily responded with a pensive frown. "They really haven't been that bad. They haven't tested any charms, or potions, or anything like that on him, but he doesn't even try to get back for the small stuff. Sirius and James have had each other to act as guinea pigs all summer."

"Guinea pigs?" James wrinkled his brow.

"Muggles use small rodents to test on," Remus explained with a wave of his hand. James really could have used Muggle Studies. "Maybe his form has affected him more than we know. Sirius acts like a dog often enough."

James was frowning now, and Remus detected some concern. He wondered if they had used Peter as the test subject or victim too many times now. They'd have to lighten up on him and encourage him to prank his friends every now and then. Maybe without fear of retaliation for some time he would get some of his confidence back.

Lily kissed first Remus, then James on their cheeks, "I'm due back home. I'll see you both in few days."

James stood there with a goofy grin on his face for a few minutes after she left and Remus just watched him, glad that James had finally approached her and she had given in. After a few minutes he poked James, who started and turned towards Remus in surprise.

"She left five minutes ago Prongs," Remus felt the corners of his mouth lift in barely suppressed laughter.

"You'll stand for me, right Remus?" James asked him, his eyes hopeful.

Remus smiled and hugged his friend tightly, "Did you even doubt it?"

"Well you've been away all summer... and you're a target now..." James sounded unsure, something Remus had never expected from him. James was always confident, sometimes overly so.

Remus held him by the shoulders and looked him in the eye, "No Dark Lord could keep me away from your wedding Prongs. The only thing that could is the full moon, so mind when you schedule it."

James smiled, "Already taken into account Moony. Even if I neglected it, Lily would make sure."

Peter came back then dripping wet, with Sirius behind him, laughing. Peter frowned at Sirius, "How many times do I have to tell you Padfoot? That isn't funny!"

"Of course it is!" Sirius replied, not pausing in his laughter for even a second.

Remus cast a drying charm on Peter, "Ease up on Wormtail Padfoot. You'll have nothing left for the Slytherins when we get back if you use it all up on him."

Peter gave Remus a little smile, which Remus returned. As he had all year, Sirius instantly backed down in the face of Remus's disapproval. The joking mood soon returned and the four Marauders were awake nearly all night talking about their summers and planning for their last year at Hogwarts. James and Sirius were determined that the Marauders would leave their final mark on the school by the end of the year.

All four of them were bleary eyed when they stumbled to breakfast the next morning to find their Hogwarts letters waiting on the table, a little bit later in the summer than usual.

"Post came hours ago," Viviane said as she smiled at them. "I trust you slept at some point last night?"

"Must have," James grinned at his mother, "but I think I remember sunrise."

She shook her head, "Enjoy it while you can. In a few years you'll have trouble staying up past midnight."

"Never!" Sirius adopted an expression of shock.

Remus just shook his head. He would certainly take Viviane's advice to heart, as there was no telling when the transformations would take their toll on his body and sap away his energy. None of them were particularly eager to open their Hogwarts letters, as the only news in them would be what books they needed for that year.

Spending his summer with the Flamels, working on such detailed magical theory and spellwork must have honed Remus's senses to some degree, as he felt the Floo before actually hearing the arrival, and knew it was Lily before her scent hit his nose.

She bounded into to the room waving her letter, grin stretching from ear to ear, "I'm Head Girl! Head Girl! Open your letters already!"

Viviane gave her a hug, and Remus saw that the two of them were already close. He complied with Lily's demand and neatly slit open his envelope with a fingernail, exposing the usual letter and book list, and letter to prefects that had started two summers before. He gave Lily a light smile, and she winked at him, silently urging him to read his letter. When he did, Remus nearly choked as a result of his post for the second time that summer.

"You okay mate?" James pounded his back, looking concerned.

Remus couldn't wait for this. He nodded, "Yes James, I'm fine. Just open your letter before Lily tunnels through the floor and ends up in China. It would take her an awful long time to apparate back."

"Tunnels?" Sirius asked him, looking perplexed. Not one of them, even Viviane or Lily, seemed to catch his reference.

"Quantum tunneling," Remus explained as if they all should have known. "The small particles that everything and everyone is made of can theoretically line up perfectly so that one object can pass through another without the use of magic."

Wide eyes blinked at him and Remus waved it away, "Just open your letters already."

The other Marauders nodded and Remus heard James's sharp intake of breath, and the increase in his pulse, "This has got to be a joke."

Remus and Lily exchanged a look, both of them grinning. Sirius pouted, "What?"

James held up the silver badge with 'HB' on it, "What in Merlin's names possessed Dumbledore?"

"Oh James!" Viviane hugged her son. "I have to Floo your father. He'll be so proud of you." She rushed out of the room, leaving a stunned James behind her.

"This can't be for real," James was still on denial. "I mean... why would Dumbledore make _me_ Head Boy? Remy?"

Even if Remus couldn't see the guilt on his friend's face he could have easily smelled it. He shook his head and smiled, "Are you kidding me Prongs? Making a werewolf a prefect was a stretch. The Governors have to approve Head Girl and Head Boy. I never had a chance."

James hugged him tightly and then looked over to where Lily was still bouncing a bit in place. He jumped up from the table and swept her into a hug, spinning her around and kissing her fiercely. The other Marauders all looked on with smiles, and Remus felt the little bit of jealousy fade. He was lucky as it was to have friends at all, never mind these incredible friends that accepted him for what he was. There was no reason to want for more. With the Marauders, Remus would never be alone.

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	49. 48: The Beginning of the End

**Chapter Forty-Eight: The Beginning of the End**

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"This is strange," Remus commented, feeling decidedly uncomfortable. His den was wrong, incomplete. It was making him antsy.

Sirius looked at the spot that used to hold the fourth bed in the room, where Peter's wardrobe now sat. The House Elves had rearranged to entire room to accommodate for the removal of James's furniture. As Head Boy, James now had his own room, which shared a common room with Lily. Remus didn't think that was necessarily wise, but then how many Head Girls were engaged to the Head Boy of their year?

It was just the three of them now, and even though the decorations remained the same – Detention Tally Sheet, Marauder's Code of Conduct, Prank Wall – the entire room was off balance and Remus didn't like it.

Peter nodded, "James should be here."

"It's weird without him," Sirius agreed with both of them. "Six years with all of us together, and now..."

There was silence. It stretched out and Remus frowned. He had been fine while staying with the Flamels, knowing his pack was well even if they weren't with him. Now he had two out of three, and the third was close by, but he felt an anxiety under his skin that he couldn't explain.

He took a deep breath and sighed, trying to block out that unease. He had to get used to his new arrangement, "It's probably just as well. Who knows what will happen at the end of the year?"

"Yeah," Sirius flopped back on his bed, "James and me off to Auror training, you and Peter with your own jobs." Remus held back his snort. None of his friends would accept that there wasn't anyone out there who would risk hiring a werewolf, especially in the current political climate. "We can't all live at Potter Manor forever."

Much as the idea was tempting, Remus knew he could never accept the Potters' offer for a home after graduation. If he didn't have at least some distance from his pack it would be far too easy to grow fully dependant on them. He would much rather return to the Flamels as they requested and earn his keep, also continuing to work for the Order without having to hide it from his friends.

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Lily turned quickly at the sound of someone knocking on her door. She opened it with her wand, surprised to see James on the threshold, "How did you...?"

"I figure the founders trusted the Heads more than the other students," his grin was full of self-assurance and mischief. "Besides, it was worth testing the stairs."

He entered her room, more bounding than walking really but she didn't expect otherwise. His arms wrapped around her and she had to stand up on her toes for their kiss. As every kiss they had shared did, this one took her breath away, made her heart beat fast, made her knees weaken. Her body melted into his and his hands roamed over her back, lifting up her robes, insistent.

"James," Lily tried to gather her wits as she pulled back a bit and tried to smooth her robes into place.

When he was like that she felt she couldn't deny him anything, and that sense of abandon was too much for her. Lily wasn't exactly an innocent, but she wasn't nearly as experienced as James, or even as Severus now. James knew she was a virgin, and wouldn't push her, and they were engaged, but Lily just wasn't ready quite yet.

His grin was disarming, "Calm down Lils. We have to go patrol, remember?"

She glared at him, frustrated because his kiss made her forget all about her responsibilities, "I know."

"Sev said he would meet us in the dungeons," James suddenly shifted from excited to nervous. She knew he was worried about Severus's reaction to their engagement.

"He'll be fine James," Lily smiled and gave him a quick peck. She led him out of the room and down the stairs towards their exit into the corridors, "He knew this was coming eventually anyway. It may be a bit earlier than he expected, but he got into this knowing that you love me as well."

James nodded and squeezed her hand. The prefect meeting on the train had been interesting. They had barely been able to get any business done with all the girls squealing over the ring on Lily's finger. Remus had sat back quietly, talking with a few other prefects while Lily and James shared the spotlight, looking over at them and smiling fondly every now and then. Lily was thankful that she could always rely on him to be the same dependable Remus.

Lily had patrolled the corridors before as a prefect, but it was a new situation for James. For once he was out and about after hours and not breaking a single school rule, until they met up with Severus anyway. Then they would be breaking the rules by condoning his absence from his House. Severus wasn't a prefect after all.

The first night back was generally an easy night. The students were generally content to stay in their Houses, catching up with their roommates and getting settled in. That was why only the Head Girl and Boy, and whatever teachers decided to wander, were out to catch students out of bed.

It was quiet and peaceful, almost a romantic walk along the torch lit corridors. Lily squeezed James's hand and he smiled down at her. She returned the smile and he released her hand, slipping the arm around her waist. Their path was diverted a few times by shifting staircases, but James always knew a shortcut to get them back on track.

"How do you know all these...," Lily gave her fiancé an inquiring look.

James flushed just a bit, "Well, we explored quite a bit, and Remus has this fascination with the castle itself. He thinks it's alive or something."

"Alive?" Lily wondered at that. Remus was easily the most intelligent person she knew, by far. Any of theory of his was worth considerable thought, but that Hogwarts was _alive_?

James nodded, "He says that she, he calls her that, _she_, knows who we all are and everything that happens here. He's convinced that if he tries hard enough he'll actually be able to talk to her."

"I...," Lily paused for a moment. She didn't want to call Remus crazy, but thinking he could _talk_ with an animate object was a bit too much. "I don't think I can believe that."

"He is more sensitive than any of us," James shrugged. "I don't really believe he could talk to her, but maybe get impressions or something. I mean, think of how much magic she must have absorbed over the years. It might not just dissipate when a spell fizzles. Hogwarts might soak it all up."

Lily's eyes widened. She almost didn't notice they had reached the dungeons. The implications of the castle absorbing hundreds of years of failed spells and missed curses and hexes, not to mention the possibility of the students and professors giving off magic like people gave off heat... it was staggering.

A hiss jolted her out of her thoughts, and she saw James tense. A pale hand beckoned them from the shadows of an unused room. Lily followed James inside and all three of them cast a variety of privacy spells.

It was a very awkward silence that followed, none of them quite knowing the first thing to say. Severus looked unsure of himself, slightly brooding like in years before. James was gnawing on his lower lip and shifting from foot to foot. Lily looked back and forth between them, rolled her eyes, and reached up to stop James from chewing a hole in his lip. She used her thumb to extract his lip from under his teeth and shook her head.

"Boys," Lily said, as though it summed up everything, and in a way it did. She hugged Severus, and felt his tense muscles. She wanted him to calm down, to understand that James still wanted him but was afraid of rejection, and eventually his frame sagged a bit.

"That's better," Lily stepped back and looked up to hold his eyes in her gaze. "We wished you could be with us this summer Sev. We wanted to tell you face to face, not in an owl."

"I understand," Severus looked dejected, and more upset that Lily had ever seen him. "I won't make a fuss, or beg or anything. I wish the two of you all the happiness in the world."

Lily shook her head, "I don't think you understand at all."

Severus lifted his head, looking confused, and turned his eyes to James for the first time. James was still, like he never was, hazel eyes wide in sudden realization, his mouth open as if trying to speak but not knowing the words. Lily was amazed he ever managed to confess his feelings for either of them.

"Severus," Lily didn't even bother to try to get him to look at her. She knew it would be a wasted effort. "The reason we wanted to tell you in person was to avoid this misunderstanding. The last thing I want is to take James away from you, or you away from him."

It was then that the dark eyes, so dark she sometimes swore that he had no irises, only very large black pupils, stared at her, black hair falling like a curtain down either side of his face. He was hopeful, almost desperately so.

"I...," James started, and paused when Severus's head snapped back to him, "Sev I... I still love you."

Lily felt a little smile forming on her face. She stepped back, not wanting to intrude on their moment.

"You do?" Severus's voice was quiet and rough.

James nodded and took a hesitant step towards the other seventeen year old boy. Severus had grown, and was a bit taller than James. He would be almost as tall as Remus now, who still towered over Peter.

"Yes Sev," James tried to smile, but it was a bit wavery, "I was hoping..." He looked over to Lily and she nodded, encouraging him to get on with it. "I want you to bond with me Severus."

Severus's mouth dropped open. He also looked to Lily and she smiled and nodded again. "But how...?"

"I've done some research Sev," Lily told him. "There are several marriage bonds that allow for more than two people to take part in the bond."

There was a moment of almost unendurable silence and tension before Severus grabbed James and kissed him. Lily felt her own breath catch as the two of them writhed against each other, hands remapping familiar territory, mouths tasting each other for the first time in months. James's hands went inside Severus's robes and Lily knew she had to interrupt before they forgot she was in the room. She knew how James kissed, and how easy it was to get lost.

"Eh ehm," Lily cleared her throat and the boys jumped apart, both looking a bit sheepish. She simply couldn't prevent the almost smirk on her face, and the blush on her cheeks. Watching them had actually turned her on, though she couldn't admit it to them quite yet. "We should show you where our rooms are Sev, and I expect you two might want a bit of privacy."

James's face was bright red as he nodded. Then he grinned wide, his eyes dancing with delight.

Severus was much more composed, and looking a bit smug. He smiled at Lily, "Congratulations are in order."

"And to you," Lily nodded her head to him once.

His smile widened and she hugged him. He kissed her cheek, "I did miss you too Lily."

"Here," James took out his invisibility cloak and handed it to Severus, who disappeared under it. "Just follow us. We have to take a long route," James lifted his eyebrows a few times, "look for troublemakers."

"Merlin save us," Severus's disembodied voice mumbled. "They've set the thief to catch a thief."

"Hey," James protested, "I am not a thief."

"It's an expression James," Lily chided, smiling back at where she knew Severus was walking.

They circled around by the great hall, checked the library, and went back to their common room. Once inside, with the door firmly shut behind them, Severus removed the cloak and neatened his hair, mussed a bit by the hood. His cheeks were a little red, and Lily knew she would be having powerful dreams that night.

"I'll leave you two then," Lily kissed Severus on the cheek, then James firmly on the lips. "Good night."

"Night Lils," James kissed her again, his tongue snaking inside her mouth for just an instant.

"Good night," Severus smiled at her and they both watched her head up her stairs, towards her room and the connected bathroom, nearly as extravagant as the prefect bathroom.

Alone, James and Severus only looked at each for a fraction of a second before resuming the kiss they had started earlier. James's hands quickly found their place inside Severus's robes again, tracing the lean frame, the bones that poked out through skin and muscle. He knew every curve, every hollow, as if they were his own. Severus lowered his mouth to the spot on James's neck that made him want to rip off every shred of clothing Severus wore.

"So...," Severus said between little bites, "you have your own room now... with your own bed."

"Yes," James leaned his head back, and then a moment later realized what Severus was suggesting. He snapped his head up and dragged Severus up the stairs to the bedroom, a large room with a huge four poster bed, a desk and chair, a wardrobe, a table with a few chairs, and another door leading to his own bathroom.

All that mattered now though was the bed, which Severus saw instantly and led James to. They fell onto the soft mattress, pulling at each others' clothing.

"You'll really bond with me?" James couldn't help asking again. After all, Severus hadn't actually given him a straight answer, "even though I'm bonding with Lily too?"

"Yes, I will," Severus propped himself up above James and looked down at him. "I don't know how we'll manage it, how we'll work it all out, but I want it."

James brushed back the long hair, "What is there to worry about?"

Severus shook his head, "You're a fool James. I love you, but you're a fool. You know what my family is, what they'll force me to do."

"You don't have to," James narrowed his eyes, angry at the people who were forcing Severus to be someone he didn't want to be.

"Not now James," Severus shook his head, halting a conversation that had already been repeated many times. "We have all year. We can talk about this all you want later."

"Later," James agreed, and pulled Severus down on top of him, pushing his own hips up to meet those descending.

Severus moaned and the topic of their futures was abandoned. The only thing they concentrated on was the moment, the mingling of their scents and slide of flesh against flesh.

"I will always love you," James whispered into Severus's ear, licking at the lobe, and biting it gently.

"And I you," Severus said as his back arched.

There was a tingle of magic as James cast the spell to both relax muscle and lubricate, developed at first for use by athletes to relieve muscle aches, the oil for rubbing into the muscle. It also heated as it was rubbed, a nice little bonus. Quickly, other uses for the spell were discovered and it became quite popular.

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	50. 49: Dates and Designs

**Chapter Forty-Nine: Dates and Designs**

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"There is an art to the creation of a spell," Professor Vector gestured as she spoke to her seventh year N.E.W.T. class. Remus sat with James and Lily, with Frank and Alice in front of them. Severus Snape was across the room, scowling at his parchment, with Westin Nott next to him. Narcissa Black was next to Nott, looking bored. Then there were a handful of other Ravenclaws. Only twelve students had made it as far as seventh year Arithmancy.

Vector waved her hand at the board and Remus instantly recognized the complete breakdown of a Cheering Charm. When you understood what all the symbols meant it truly was beautiful.

"Now, this is your final year of study, unless some of you choose to go on into advanced work in this field," Vector eyed a few of them, Remus not among them. He had excellent grades, but he just hadn't shown the same interest in class itself since Edgar Bones died at the hands of the Death Eaters. He knew Vector considered him bright, but he hadn't given himself away with her like he had with Edgar. He wouldn't risk that again. He was clever enough not to show his advanced knowledge.

"In order to pass this class you will each design a spell of your own," James nudged Remus and Remus ignored him. He knew that James was thinking about the Map. "By the end of the month you will present me with your objective and an outline of how you wish to accomplish it. Do not worry overmuch, as I am well aware that you may have to change your approach many times. All of this work is to be completed outside of class. I suggest you use something simple, or you may not finish in time."

With that she turned to the board and explained the Cheering Charm, discussing the variety of steps that were used, how one might adjust it here or there for a slightly different end result, and why the Latin words chosen to produce the spell were not as important as the wand movement. They were only a focus and a name.

Remus was tempted to roll his eyes at the astonishment from some of his fellow students. How were the professors supposed to teach them without the wording of spells? No eleven-year-old could truly focus on the abstract concept that created a levitation spell. The words were needed, and then they became so ingrained in how magic was performed that most witches and wizards could only perform a few spells without them.

They were let out after Vector assigned a six foot parchment on the Color Change Charm. They had to break it down and analyze the steps like she did with the Cheering Charm in class, speculating on what it was that determined which color the object would become.

James wiped his brow dramatically as they left, "This is only the first class! Five Galleons says we're stuck in the library with mountains of work all weekend."

There were no takers on his bet, but Lily smacked him lightly, "You should be setting a positive example James. Really, as Head Boy you shouldn't complain so much. You didn't have to accept the badge."

"Not accept?" James looked at her like she was crazy. "You saw Mum's reaction. I don't think I'd have made it back here it I turned this down."

There were assorted snickers. Most of the students there knew Viviane Potter, as she was one of the most sought after witches in their society. She was invited to every party, was on dozens of committees, and was always available to give a bit of advice.

James, Remus, Lily, Frank, and Alice met up with Sirius, Peter, Bea, Von, and some Ravenclaws from their year on their way to Defense. Many more students were in this class than Arithmancy.

Fenwick gave each student in the Defense classroom a sharp look, "In this class we will be learning some potentially dangerous magic. There will be no fooling around, no talking out of turn, and you will all pay attention at all times. I will remove anyone from this class who does not follow my rules."

"Today we will begin work on the Patronus Charm," Fenwick announced, and Remus sat up a bit straighter. He had read about the charm before but didn't know how to cast it. "It is a very difficult charm to perform, and I do not expect all of you to succeed at casting a fully corporeal Patronus. Many grown wizards and witches are unable."

Professor Fenwick brandished his wand and spoke the incantation very clearly and forcefully.

_Expect Patronum!_

The entire class gasped as a silvery leopard came out of the wand and prowled the classroom. The wand was lowered and the leopard dissipated. The eagerness of each one of them was quickly deflated by their professor's next words.

"Open your books to page 516..."

Sirius grumbled, and Remus heard the same from many of them. Professor Fenwick always made sure they were firmly grounded in theory before trying a spell though so he didn't know why everyone was so surprised when this teaching method continued. Remus was sure Poppy would be a lot busier if Fenwick let his students just jump right in and cast unfamiliar spells left and right.

"How long do we have until N.E.W.T.s?" James exhaled loudly and flopped onto a couch in the common room he shared with Lily, all the seventh year Gryffindors present. It was like they had their own special lounge, with both Heads being Gryffindors.

"Nine months, twelve days, one hour and three minutes," Remus said without missing a beat. He sat down much more gently James and when the silence in the room drew out he looked around at the seven faces gaping at him, "What?"

"How do you know that?" Lily asked incredulously.

Remus shrugged, "It's been the same for the past six years. O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s start exactly two hundred, eighty eight days after the first day of classes. Anyone could figure it out."

"But you didn't even stop to do the math," Yvonne's was barely even blinking. The girls all seemed much more impressed than Remus's fellow Marauders, who had seen his uncanny memory working before.

James laughed and pulled Lily down to sit half on him and half on the couch, "I told all of you our Remy is a genius, but did you listen me? _No,_ of course not. You all just assumed I was exaggerating, _like usual_."

"James dear," Lily gave him her lecture face, "you do exaggerate more than is healthy. If you ever want anyone to believe you, you must earn their trust first."

He didn't really have an answer to that, so James just kissed Lily and Remus shook his head. That was one way to stop all their arguments. Conversation struck up while the other Gryffindors ignored their affianced friends.

"When's the first Hogsmeade weekend?" Alice asked Remus, as he was the only prefect there not otherwise occupied.

"Last weekend in October," Remus recalled from the scheduling meeting they had just a few nights before. Hogsmeade weekends had to be planned before the Quidditch captains could argue over who had the pitch when for practice, and most professors assured that there would be no major tests the following Monday.

"You'll be going with your Hufflepuff Peter?" Sirius batted his eyelashes at the smallest Marauder, still several inches behind Sirius and James who were about the same height. Remus had three inches on the two of them.

Peter suddenly looked like he had woken to discover he had a test he had completely forgotten to study for, "Merlin! I'm late!"

He jumped up and ran out the door, with Sirius and Remus laughing once the door was shut.

"What?" James asked them, finally coming up for air.

Remus just shook his head and batted the question away. James shrugged and they all began discussing their Potions homework, Remus just sitting to the side and going over some work for the Order in his head. He was thankful for the thousandth time that he had dropped Potions after fifth year was done.

For the first time in as long as he could remember Remus actually had to work hard to complete some of his assignments. Between his continued work on the Fidelius Charm, for which the Headmaster let him use Fawkes to correspond with Nick and Ellie, and his class work Remus was very busy. It was just as well, he discovered. James was occupied with Lily, Peter with his second Hufflepuff, the first having broken it off after he had been perpetually late when meeting her, and Sirius was pursuing Beatrice, who was mercilessly teasing him.

If he had time to stop and think about it, Remus would probably feel lonely, even somewhat abandoned. He poured himself into his work though and often didn't even notice when his two roommates showed up long after curfew.

"Remus?"

"Hmm?" He didn't look up from his parchment. He knew it was Yvonne there, that she felt mildly nervous, and that the common room was otherwise empty.

She sat down next to him and leaned over to see what he was working on. Von wasn't taking Arithmancy, which meant she would have no idea that it wasn't homework he was concentrating on. She had signed up for Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies so they only shared a few classes now.

"Can we talk?" Von asked after Remus didn't say anything else for a minute.

Remus frowned, "Just a minute."

He had an idea, that maybe a very simple ward, one that no one would even consider removing as it wouldn't disable or trap anyone, would be better to use in conjunction with his Charm than a ward more often used for defensive purposes. The ward would not only interfere less with the Charm, but it would disguise it as well. He just had to find the perfect ward, one that every witch or wizard alive would put on their house without a second thought.

Ellie would know. She had taught him so much about wards that summer, even going as far as traveling to Joseph's home with him and erecting a full set of wards for the vampire, and he suspected she hadn't even scratched the surface of the knowledge she had on the subject.

Remus pulled put a blank piece of parchment and jotted a quick note to Ellie. He rolled the parchment and addressed it simply with just her nickname.

"Who's Ellie?" Von asked.

He almost jumped in surprise. Remus had completely forgotten the girl was there, "She's a friend, an absolutely brilliant friend. I've been looking into wards a bit and she knows more about them than anyone else I know. I just have to send her a quick question about them."

"She's not a student here?" Yvonne seemed merely curious, but there something underlying that Remus couldn't really figure out just them.

He shook his head, "No. She doesn't live anywhere near here." He flicked his wand and saw it was getting late. "I'll have to send this tomorrow." Remus gathered up his papers, then remembered that Von had come down to see him, "Did you want to talk about something?"

She shook her head, and seemed upset, "No. I'm sorry for disturbing you. It was nothing."

"Is there something wrong?" Remus was completely mystified. She had been fine just a minute ago.

"No," Von shook her head. She was clearly lying but Remus didn't know how to call her on it. "I'm heading up to bed. Goodnight Remus."

He stayed where he was for several minutes, trying to figure out what had just happened. Eventually the portrait opened and Sirius and Bea snuck in, giggling and poking each other lightly. They spotted Remus and headed towards him.

"Moony!" Sirius tackled Remus and tried to pin him on the couch, Beatrice looking on and laughing.

With ease born of several years of wrestling with his friends, Remus rolled, using Sirius's momentum to dump him on the floor. He sat up and smoothed out his clothes, "Yes Padfoot?"

"What are you staring at the girls' stairs for?" Sirius waggled his eyebrows suggestively and Bea sat beside him to listen in.

"Has something been bothering Von?" Remus asked her, figuring that as Von's roommate she would hopefully know.

Bea shook her head, "Not that I know of. Why?"

"She was down here a minute ago, and said she wanted to talk, but then she just suddenly changed her mind and ran back upstairs," Remus shook his head to clear it. Girls often made no sense whatsoever.

Sirius and Bea exchanged a look and Bea sighed, "I got it covered Remy."

After giving Remus a quick hug, and Sirius a much less quick hug and a peck on the lips, Beatrice headed up to her room, leaving the two Marauders alone.

"Petey in yet?" Sirius asked him.

Remus nodded his head slowly and narrowed his eyes, "He's been asleep for a couple hours. What's going on?"

Sirius flinched and directed Remus upstairs. He shut the door behind him and pulled Remus onto his bed with him. "It's like this Remus. Yvonne has a crush on you. Lily told her that you're concentrating on work this year, what with N.E.W.T.s coming up, and not to expect anything. She insisted it never hurt to try." Sirius shrugged.

Remus groaned. He had written the note to Ellie, and then Von had asked who she was... right before she got upset and practically ran away from him.

"It's just as well," Remus held his head in his hands. "At least I won't have to explain to her why I won't date anyone."

Sirius patted him on the back in an obvious effort to console him, and Remus smiled. Their friendship was getting back to what it had been before.

Remus opted to stay behind for the Hogsmeade weekend, as his friends were all going with dates. James and Lily tried to convince him to join them, as they had duties to perform as Head Boy and Girl and so couldn't have a real date, but Remus cringed at the thought of intruding like that.

"Fairy Floss," Remus said to the gargoyle, which obediently moved aside and let him up to the Headmaster's office.

"Come in," Dumbledore's voice called the instant Remus hit the top step.

"I thought it might be a good time to give you an update," Remus handed over a roll of parchment as he sat down.

Dumbledore looked over the figures and lifted his eyebrows a few times. He popped a lemon drop in his mouth and Remus could see his tongue working it around his mouth as he read.

"Very interesting...," Dumbledore finally said. "Very interesting indeed. I see Ellie suggested an evil spirits ward as the foundation. Superstition more than anything else as the ward itself is completely useless... but traditional. How would you link your Charm?"

Remus took the parchment and began demonstrating, taking out his muggle pen that was always in his pocket and drawing as he spoke, "It's a matter of simultaneous casting. The words of the spell for the ward have to be changed slightly, but it should still appear the same to anyone examining the wards of a building, granted that they can actually find it. The Fidelius will keep out anyone not in the Circle of the Secret away, and any of them that try to find the Charm won't be able to. It will appear to be part of the ward."

The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes was greater than Remus had ever seen it, "Have you tested this?"

"Not yet," Remus shook his head, a little antsy. "I've been here, and casting of this magnitude would certainly draw attention to me."

Dumbledore smiled and stood up from his desk. He crossed and activated his Floo, calling for McGonagall, "Minerva, I have to step out briefly. Please stay in the castle until I notify you of my return."

Remus didn't hear an answer and assumed that she just nodded or something. The Headmaster came back to Remus and held his arm out for Fawkes, who understood the gesture and swooped across the office, landing gently.

"Now?" Remus caught on, more excited than he could imagine.

"Of course," Dumbledore twinkled. "This is one of the Order's top priorities Remus. If we can find a way to make our safe houses impenetrable then there will be many who no longer need to fear Voldemort."

Dumbledore gripped Remus's shoulder and with a flash of fire they disappeared, only to reappear in front of a cottage Remus had never seen before. It looked rather dilapidated, and a figure rushed out the instant they arrived. Remus recognized Alastor Moody, who didn't let them say anything until they proved their identities. Apparently even the presence of Fawkes wasn't enough for the paranoid Auror.

"What are ye doin' here?" Moody eyed them suspiciously. "Shoudna the boy be in school?"

Remus raised his eyebrows and Dumbledore simply chuckled, "We are here to test something Alastor. Remus, if you would?"

Dumbledore whispered to him the precise location of the cottage, something Remus would have to focus on as he cast the Charm. He nodded, and motioned for Dumbledore and Alastor to head inside. With them in the cottage during the casting it would be unnecessary to inform them of its whereabouts, but they wouldn't be able to share it with anyone else.

A deep calming breath, and Remus focused inward, connecting to his magic. He felt the warding already on the cottage, which was considerable, and there was already an evil spirits ward in place. He removed it smoothly and proceeded to cast his own spells. He had to, in essence, divide his magic and cast two spells at the same time, focusing carefully on both. His wand was in his robe, as it was not needed for this work. It was draining to work without his wand, but Remus needed both hands free.

There was a small dagger in a sheath on his belt, usually needed for Potions and Herbology in the years before his O.W.L.s, but now kept with him since he had started working on blood charms. It cleanly slit open his palm and the blood welled up before dripping to the ground. First, Remus traced a series of runes on the ground. Then he walked the entire perimeter of the wards, his blood infusing the Charm with the wards and linking it to his soul.

He chanted as he walked, the same words over and over, and could feel the magic as it flowed around him. His robes moved like a strong wind was blowing but the air was still. Remus made the circuit twice, and stopped at the exact spot he had started.

The cut on his hand was already healing, aided by the lycanthropy. If he ever cast the Charm on a larger property he would need to cut deeper. As it was he had needed to hold the skin apart during the last quarter of the spell casting.

He felt a little dizzy, but had lost much more blood in his transformations. Alastor and Dumbledore were coming out of the cottage and approached him carefully.

"I think it worked Albus," Remus smiled, and stumbled slightly. It must have been the amount of magic he used. Anyone else who tried it, if they weren't as powerful, would have to use their wand.

"Alastor," Dumbledore addressed the Auror without taking his eyes off of Remus, "call Aaron and ask him to come here. Tell him to wait for Fawkes if he can't find the cottage."

"Aye," Alastor nodded and gave them an odd look. He walked away without question though.

"Drink, my boy," Albus handed Remus a vial of Replenisher. He felt the magic course through him and the world came into a clearer focus.

Alastor returned and they all waited. The Auror knew better than to ask exactly what was going on. Five minutes passed, and Remus pulled out a slip of parchment and his pen. He wrote out the location of the cottage and gave it to Fawkes, who disappeared.

"What in the name of Merlin?" Aaron Potter came over a hill looking incredibly confused. "I was here not one minute ago, and I couldn't find the cottage! I had to wait until Fawkes showed up."

"Gentlemen," Albus twinkled brightly, "this information is to be guarded more closely than your lives." The Headmaster and Leader of the Order of the Phoenix went on to explain the Fidelius Charm and how Remus had designed it. "Remus is now your Secret Keeper Alastor. No one with the exception of those of us here can ever find this building again, and only Remus can allow others to find it."

Alastor's eyes went wide, "I can't very well send people to Hogwarts to get the information."

Remus wrote out the location five more times and handed the parchment to Moody, "This works as well as me telling someone face to face. Just have whoever read that parchment and concentrate on the words."

Aaron gripped Remus in a fierce hug, which startled Remus. "Your father would be proud of you Remus. This Charm might save hundreds of lives."

Remus felt tears well up in his eyes, but he wouldn't let them fall. For once he was saving lives instead of endangering them.

"Now," Albus held out his arms, wand poised, "let's see if the three of us can manage to find and break this Charm."

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	51. 50: Adding Insult to Injury

**Chapter Fifty: Adding Insult to Injury**

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Alice Anderson blew another bubble. Droobles Best Blowing Gum was newly on the market and she couldn't get enough of it. Her classmates all teased her about it but it didn't stop her from almost constantly chewing.

Alice was one of at least a dozen seventh year students now engaged to be married. Frank Longbottom had proposed to her during the first Hogsmeade weekend, and as everyone expected she immediately agreed. Several of the pureblood students were betrothed, most of them to wizards or witches who had already graduated, or were a few years behind them. In one case, a sixth year Slytherin and first year Ravenclaw were already betrothed. The Ravenclaw wouldn't be able to date anyone her entire seven years at Hogwarts without breaking the contract and shaming her family.

Lily smiled at her friend. Bea and Von had already agreed to stand for both of them, and the four Gryffindor girls could frequently be found discussing flowers, music, food, and clothes when they weren't working on their homework or spending time with their respective boyfriends or fiancés.

That afternoon though, three of the four girls were in the Gryffindor stands with Peter and Remus, cheering on the Gryffindor team. Bea had finally made it onto the main team, though not as a Beater. She was a Chaser that year. It was probably just as well, as she and Sirius may not have been able to concentrate on the game otherwise.

Lily was hanging onto Remus while she jumped up and down and cheered with the other Gryffindors as the team flew out onto the pitch. She almost never saw Remus lately. He would either be bent over books, or numbers on parchment that made no sense to her whatsoever, or she would have no idea of where to find him. So while she had her friend there, she was holding onto him.

Some of what was bothering him lately was obvious. Every Marauder except him had a girlfriend, and it wasn't from lack of interest that Remus was alone. He had admitted to her that if his situation was different he would have gladly dated Yvonne. Yvonne hadn't been the only girl to approach Remus, Lily had heard from James one night. Remus was thoughtful, smart, handsome, and quite obviously powerful. So long as he managed to keep his lycanthropy secret there would be offers from both genders that he would have to turn down.

Yvonne had been upset at first, but she had gotten over the rejection, appeared to get over Remus, and had moved on. She was dating a Ravenclaw sixth year, one of Frank's friends.

The air was crisp and little puffs of cloud formed in front of each student. They all had their House scarves on, and gloves or mittens. Woolen hats replaced the pointed uniform hats, and Professor Sprout sported her famous huge pink earmuffs.

Security at Hogwarts had been increased from the previous year. Pringle was checking students anytime they entered the grounds with a Secrecy Sensor and several dark detectors. As Head Girl, Lily knew about the changes in the wards that made it impossible to enter the school grounds at any point other than the front gates. It was lucky for the Marauders that James was Head Boy that year, as they had a reputation for being able to sneak off school grounds, and doing so frequently.

"Madame Hooch has released the snitch, and the quaffle has been tossed!" the announcer said loudly. "Gryffindor Chaser and Captain Potter takes the quaffle, and the game begins."

The game of quidditch itself did not particularly appeal to Lily. She was not very good with a broom, and had never really been interested in sports at any time in her life. She would much rather curl up with a book than watch a game of cricket on the telly.

She got swept up in the excitement of the crowd though, and determined early on in her Hogwarts career that live sports beat televised sports hands down. There was also the fact that quidditch was quite obviously much more exciting than any muggle sport out there.

"Go James!" Lily screamed as he scored. James turned and flashed a smile her way and Lily thought she might melt right there. She hugged Remus, and he returned it with a little indulgent smile. He seemed more amused than anything else.

"Do you know how many girls are glaring at you right now?" Remus leaned down and whispered to her.

Lily chuckled, "Well, I am engaged to James, and I have you on my arm."

Remus rolled his eyes, "I'd say it's the former."

She poked his side, "No matter how much you deny it Mr. Lupin, you're seen as quite a catch around here. Of course, they don't know you like I do."

He echoed her mischievous smile, "And precisely what do you mean by that?"

"Oh nothing," Lily gave him an innocent look. "It's just remarkable how accurate your name is, wouldn't you agree?"

That got a laugh out of him, "The irony has occurred to me before."

She was glad he could laugh about it, something she suspected was not possible several years before. It had not escaped Lily's notice that Remus had become more outgoing and open as his years at Hogwarts progressed. The other Marauders were good for something other than turning people's skin and hair interesting colors and patterns... and sometimes textures.

Gryffindor scored another goal, and the Slytherin team was looking decidedly unhappy. The game started to get dirty, and Lily frowned. The Slytherin Beaters were practically ignoring the rules altogether, and Sirius and Asa were having a difficult time trying to keep the bludgers under Gryffindor control.

A foul was called when one of the Slytherin Beaters hit Sirius over the head with his bat, making Sirius lose track of the bludger he had been about to hit. Before the foul was called, though, the Slytherin beater managed to hit the bludger as hard as he could, and it went straight to James, who didn't even have the quaffle. All the chasers were by the Slytherin goal.

It might not have been too bad a hit, but James was flying near the goalposts. The bludger hit his shoulder and knocked him into a post. There was a sickening 'crack' as his head bounced off the post and he began to fall.

Lily gasped, and before she could react further she saw that Remus was on his feet, his wand trained on James. He didn't even speak his incantation but James's fall slowed, and though he hit the ground hard, it wasn't nearly as hard as it would have been.

Her heart was pounding in her chest, and her throat felt tight. He was too far away... she couldn't see if he was moving. There was a tug on her arm and Lily let Remus direct her out of the stands and towards her fallen fiancé.

On the ground her senses kicked in and Lily ran towards the heap of gold and red quidditch robes. As she got close she saw that at least he was breathing, the robes moving just slightly. Madame Hooch and Professor McGonagall met them on the pitch.

"Take him to the hospital wing Lupin," McGonagall said in her usual stern tone, though Lily could detect a touch of fear and concern. "Bring Evans with you."

She watched Remus bodily lift James, not bothering with a levitation spell. Lily knew that Remus needed to feel that James would be okay, probably more than she did. There was puffing breath and she saw that Peter had run up behind them. He put an arm around Lily and she let the tears begin to fall, leaning on Peter as they all walked up to the castle.

There was the sound of an argument behind them, Sirius being firmly chastised by both McGonagall and Hooch, and the game starting up again.

"Poppy!" Remus called out, and Lily only noted in some recess of her mind that Remus had no qualms using the hospital matron's proper name.

"What is it now Remus?" The nurse bustled out of her office and caught sight of James, blood on his face from a cut on his scalp. "Set him down on the usual bed."

Lily nearly held her breath in anticipation. She waited anxiously to hear the pronouncement, and was only vaguely aware that she was squeezing Peter's hand hard enough to make the smallest Marauder wince.

She hadn't been witness much to the dynamics of the pack, but it was obvious that Pomfrey knew. As she cast her spells over spells she explained them all to Remus, who was taught and clearly holding himself back. She gave Remus tasks to help her with, perhaps the only thing holding him together.

"Drink," Pomfrey pushed a vial into Remus's hands and he obeyed her. "Good. You can check for yourself now. He'll be fine."

Remus hugged the nurse, and Lily blinked in surprise. Remus almost never initiated contact with anyone besides the other Marauders. Pomfrey hugged the boy back, and patted him reassuringly. Remus then turned his attention to James, inspecting him thoroughly. She had never seen the wolfish side of Remus so strongly reveal itself before. Remus was clearly smelling as well as touching and looking to make sure James was going to heal.

He collapsed into a bedside chair then, and Peter approached him, "He'll be okay?"

Oddly, it looked like Peter trusted Remus's assessment more than that of the professional Healer. Remus nodded, and Lily felt her own anxiety begin to fade, as if Remus's pronouncement meant more to her as well. She sat on the chair on the other side of James's bed and took one his hands between hers. They were quiet as they watched over him.

The sounds of the quidditch game continued outside, and by the commentary she heard, Gryffindor was playing just as dirty as the Slytherins usually did, trying to get even for the damage done to their Captain. Remus winced more than once, probably in reaction to bludger hits he could hear that they couldn't.

Cheering eventually erupted from the stands, and it was impossible to hear the commentary telling them who had won the game from where they were. At least, it was impossible for Lily and Peter. Remus, however, shook his head and refused to answer Peter's insistent questions.

It was clear as Sirius practically ran into the hospital wing, completely ignoring Pomfrey's, 'No running in my hospital Sirius Constantine Black!' His face was stormy and he threw down both broom and bat, his uniform dirty and his hair resembling the Potter style.

"We lost?" Lily asked, knowing it was probably the first thing James would ask when he woke. He often had quidditch on the brain.

Sirius nodded, "Miserably. Bloody cheats. The game should have been called when they took James out, but Travers insisted it was a mistake. He said he didn't mean to hit me, and didn't hear the foul called. There's no chance at the Cup now."

Remus was on his feet, checking Sirius over, then waving his wand and softly speaking a healing spell. Lily watched in amusement while Sirius submitted meekly to the treatment.

"How is he?" Sirius asked, looking down at James's still form.

"He'll have a wicked headache when he wakes up, and he'll be sore for days, but he's fine," Remus answered.

The rest of the team came in then, and it was clear Sirius _had_ run up to the hospital the instant the game ended. Lily went over to Remus and put a hand on his arm. He turned and raised an eyebrow.

"I'll be back in a minute," Lily needed some excuse to get out of there. If she was right, Severus was pacing like a caged animal in James's room, waiting to hear the prognosis. "He'll need something other than mud caked quidditch robes to wear out of here."

Remus gave her a curious look, "The house elves can get that for him."

"They have plenty to do," Lily said sharply. Remus just lifted his eyebrows but didn't argue further and Lily left, her hands shaking slightly. She hated quidditch, she decided. Any sport that could nearly kill someone she loved was not a sport for her.

Lily opened the door to James's room and stepped inside, "I know you're in here Sev."

Severus tossed the invisibility cloak to the floor and strode across the room. He was clearly fighting the temptation to yell, "How is he?"

"He's fine," Lily smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes. She had been just as worried. There was a momentary temptation to tell him that he and Sirius had both asked the same exact thing before saying anything else, but she decided that provoking Severus was not appropriate just then. "He had a moderate concussion and several broken bones. He'll be up tomorrow but not very happy. He'll have a wicked headache and lots of aches for a week or so."

Severus nodded and sat down on the bed, resting his head in his hands, "Good."

Lily sat next to him and wrapped an arm around his waist. His arm automatically held her. She rested her head on his shoulder, wondering why he was reacting this way. Severus always controlled his emotions, was always cool and collected, somewhat like Remus in that respect, "What else is wrong Sev?"

"I just sat there Lil, and laughed," his voice was full of self loathing. "He was hurt and I laughed."

She held him tightly, "You couldn't do anything else unless you wanted to expose yourself. It won't change what he feels for you Sev."

"Thanks Lil," he leaned into her embrace and wrapped his other arm around her.

She kissed his cheek, reflecting on how far they had come. Just one year ago he had still sneered at her and flinched away from any physical contact. It had taken James being his usual idiotic self and the two of them getting equally furious to knock down his final barriers, his final prejudices.

"I have to head back," Lily said with a sigh. "I said I was coming here to get clean clothing for him."

"The house elves could do that," Severus gave her a look, clearly saying she could have come up with a better excuse.

"Well I needed something!" Lily huffed. "I didn't exactly have time to plan this out, or would you rather I left you here all night to wonder about James?"

A smirk, and the Severus she knew was back, "Go back to the Marauders. They've probably turned the hospital wing into a circus without you there to stop them."

Lily shook her head and went over to James's wardrobe. There was a pile of clothing on the floor, but there was no way of telling whether it was clean or dirty. Only James and the house elves could figure that out. She pulled out a pair of jeans and a jumper, and clean boxers and socks. His trainers were already in the hospital wing. She bundled it all up and stuffed it into James's bag.

Severus was slipping the invisibility back on, and all that was visible was his head, to get out of the area without question, "Tell him I was here?"

Lily nodded, "Of course I will Sev."

Without another word his head disappeared and the door opened and shut quietly. Lily listened, but his footsteps were quiet and she couldn't hear him leave. When she got back to the hospital wing there was a veritable feast spread before the conscious Marauders.

"How...?" Lily felt her eyes widen.

A house elf popped into the wink, "Is there anything else Nippy can get for sirs?"

"No Nippy," Sirius answered, "we're fine." He turned to Lily, "you?"

She shook her head, a little astonished, and Nippy popped away. Lily set down the bag and just stared at the three boys stuffing their faces. Well... Peter and Sirius were stuffing their faces. Remus was eating with his usual good manners.

"Sit down Lee," Remus said after he swallowed, summoning a chair over to the table for her. "Dinner started twenty minutes ago and you didn't have lunch."

Her stomach gave a little growl and Lily blushed. She sat down though and started eating. The Marauders were the only ones left in the room, though Pomfrey popped her head in every now and then. She even sneaked some food from their spread, smiling at the boys and ruffling Remus's hair.

"She lets us eat in here all the time," Sirius explained and pointed at Remus, "what with him having his own room and everything."

Remus rolled his eyes and the banter began, one of them flicking their eyes to James every now and then and checking on him. Lily just watched, feeling more accepted into their group than ever before. James didn't have any siblings, so these boys were going to be the closest to brother-in-laws that Lily would get. With that realization she grinned. She was certainly getting a better deal than James. After all, he was going to get stuck with Petunia and Vernon.

He was released the next evening, and Lily escorted him back to their rooms. Severus had left a note for him, which Lily hadn't seen as it had been charmed for James's eyes only. Lily still shuddered at the thought that she could have lost him to a quidditch accident. Despite the rules against it, she stayed with James that night.

Her first time was nothing like she thought it would be. She had been told by her mother, who of course knew nothing about magic, that sex was going to hurt the first few times. So when James cast four separate spells on her first, one of which was a muscle relaxant and another that was a pain killer, Lily was surprised and relieved.

James kissed her, and kept asking her if she was sure. Eventually, Lily pushed him onto his back, slipped her nightgown up over her head, and pulled down his boxers. She kissed him, pressing their bare bodies together. She was shaking slightly, and her skin was tingling all over.

He gently turned them over so Lily was lying on her back. James didn't rush into it, or push. He slowly worshipped her body, paying attention to every part of her, his fingers making sure she was ready for him, before he slipped in almost without her being aware of it. James moved on top of her, whispering endearments in her ear. Lily felt like her body would explode, the sensation like nothing she had ever experienced before.

"I should get hit with bludgers more often," James whispered into his hair as he curled up behind her.

Lily was in a state of ultimate relaxation, her body pliant in his hands, "Don't you even think about it James Aaron Potter."

He laughed and teased her nipples, his breath against her neck sending shivers down her spine. His tongue snuck out to taste the skin just below her ear and she pressed back against him, only to feel that he was ready for more again. Her eyebrows went up and she remembered her thoughts that the ball of energy known as James Potter was more than any one person could handle. She was more accurate at the time than she had realized.

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	52. 51: A Marauder Farewell

**Chapter Fifty-One: A Marauder Farewell**

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The Marauders spent their winter holiday at Potter Manor again, possibly the last time they would all have the holiday together, and they made the most of it. They had snowball fights, duels, and drank an obscene amount of spiced mead. Viviane frowned, but Aaron commented more than once that the boys were all of age and he would rather they learn about the evils of inebriation at the Manor rather than later.

Lily and her family were invited for both Christmas and New Years, and she stopped by briefly on Christmas Day, saying her sister was home for the holiday and there was no way Petunia would get anywhere near the Manor. She did bring her parents over for New Years, as her brother-in-law had an office party he brought her sister to.

With the end of their days at Hogwarts approaching, a surprising number of arguments broke out amongst the seventh year students of Hogwarts. In private, James and Severus had an ongoing heated discussion concerning their futures where the war was concerned. James could not accept that Severus had no choice but to join the Death Eaters. He was perfectly willing to go public with their relationship and apply to Dumbledore for help keeping Severus safe from his family, but Severus refused. He hadn't trusted Dumbledore ever since the 'Shrieking Shack Incident'. Severus insisted that Sirius should have been expelled, and James got to the point where he refused to discuss the matter.

Remus's friends, outside of the Marauders, continued to ask what he planned to do after graduation. He got sick of thinking of ways to put them off, so he just told everyone he was considering apprenticing, but was taking a year off first.

As winter turned to spring, and the weather warmed, Remus found himself anxiously awaiting the end of school. The Flamels were expecting him the day after the Hogwarts Express brought the students back to Kings Cross. Order members had been testing the Fidelius Charm on Alastor Moody's house since it had been cast, most of them not knowing what they were testing, and Remus had been checking his work for ways to improve the Charm or for errors he had missed. He couldn't wait to go over the results of everyone else's work, and perhaps start on a new project.

Full moons were fun for the Marauders again, and they all began to wish that their lives weren't about to change so drastically. In only a few short months they wouldn't be able to run under the full moon the same way they did at Hogwarts.

With N.E.W.T.s approaching nearly every seventh year student was on edge. Pomfrey had calming potions in hand every time her wards alerted her to the presence of a student in her wing. James, Sirius, Frank, and Alice celebrated when they were all accepted in the first stage of the Auror application process. Their studying for their exams became even more frantic, as they now had to assure they got passing grades in at least five subjects in order to qualify for the physical testing.

Peter was getting more and more nervous as time passed. He was sending owls out, supposedly to family, but they were being intercepted after leaving Hogwarts and before they reached his parents. He did not want school to end. He did not want to graduate. He knew that when he did the pressure would increase. He was going to be forced to take the Mark, and he dreaded it.

"Mischief Managed," Peter wiped the Map clean as he snuck through the corridors late one night. The Map had been entrusted to his care, as he was the most likely to need it. James, as Head Boy, was allowed out whenever he wanted. Remus had never needed the map, and Sirius seemed to thrive on detentions.

The Map was a danger to him though. If one of the others wanted it for something, and they noticed how often he went to the owlery, they might start asking questions.

Peter had a solution though, and it was coming around the corner just then.

Caretaker Pringle glared at Peter as they nearly collided with each other, "Out of bed I see, and what's this?"

The map was snatched out of his hands and Peter stuttered, "N-n-nothing... I swear... just parchment..." He then made a move to grab it back, which only increased suspicion in Pringle's eyes.

"I'll be keeping this," Pringle had a nasty gleam in his eye, "and you'll be serving detention tomorrow night."

He directed Peter to McGonagall, whose disapproving frown was nothing compared to what his friends were going to say. She took thirty points and sent him back to Gryffindor Tower.

Remus woke up when Peter returned, and Peter told him to go back to sleep. He felt a stab of guilt. The Map had been all Remus's work, and Peter couldn't even fathom how Remus had done it, and now it was gone, possibly even destroyed. There was no question, though, that the Marauders would never see it again.

"You what?" Sirius was livid. "Pringle has the Map?"

"Was it activated?" Remus asked him, thankfully not sounding angry. It was so hard to tell Remus though sometimes.

Peter shook his head, trying to shrink into himself.

Remus put a hand on Sirius's shoulder, "There's no harm done then. It's not like it would help us any once we graduate."

Sirius continued to glare at Peter, but relented, as he always did when Remus said to. Peter felt relief course through him. He had been lying for so long and didn't know how much more he could take. The Hufflepuff girls he had dated both had low level Death Eater parents and were following instructions to give him nighttime alibis. Narcissa Black wouldn't get anywhere near him, and Peter was starting to crumble. He wanted more than anything for his friends to realize something was going on and save him, but he knew it wasn't to be. Peter was never that lucky.

The Easter holiday passed almost without notice for the seventh year class. All it meant for them was that they had more time for studying. Sirius's Uncle Adolphus died, leaving Sirius as his sole beneficiary, something that came as quite a surprise. The Marauders knew that Sirius's uncle wasn't quite as fanatical as the rest of the family, and was seen as something of a nutcase, but it looked he disagreed with the Blacks more than they suspected.

Remus was determined to do well, even if his results didn't truly matter to anyone but him. As Aaron had said, Dumbledore went to a lot of effort to make sure Remus got an education. It would be disrespectful of Remus to throw that away.

N.E.W.T. exams were very much like O.W.L. exams, only more intense and difficult. They were comprehensive of all seven years of study and took longer to complete than the O.W.L. exams did. Peter was sitting the fewest exams out of all the Marauders, but he still nearly had a nervous breakdown. He had plans to get a basic junior position at the Ministry, something made more likely by his connections. The Ministry was desperate lately, what with witches and wizards leaving the majority of departments to help out the Aurors, or fleeing the country to escape Voldemort.

It was only the day before they left, and the morning post owls were dropping large envelopes in front of several seventh year students, mostly acceptances to jobs, apprenticeships, or universities. Sirius was surprised to see that one fell in front of Bea, and he looked over her shoulder. It was from the Salem Witches Institute.

"You applied?" he asked her, mystified. She had said nothing about going to university, and certainly not about leaving the country.

She raised her eyebrows at him, "Yes I did."

"You never said anything," Sirius felt a little hurt. He realized then that she hadn't said anything about her plans after graduation.

"You never asked," Bea said with a touch of irritation.

Sirius went back to his eggs, but kept glancing over to her. He could not understand what was happening. They had been fine, and Sirius had assumed that she was going to get a job in the Ministry, or maybe in Diagon Alley, and they would continue to see each other. This was a completely unexpected development.

"I got in!" Bea shrieked and jumped up from her seat. Her roommates jumped up with her and were hugging her and wishing her luck. Silence fell around them when she turned to Sirius, "Are you going to say anything?"

"Good luck Bea," Sirius mumbled, trying to figure out how this had surprised him.

"Is that all?" Bea glared at him, hands on her hips.

"What do you expect?" Sirius put down his fork with a clang and stood as well, looking down to her. "I had no idea you were even applying to university! Were you just going to leave, no explanation or anything?"

Bea looked rather upset, "Well you haven't exactly given me a reason to stay, have you?"

So that was it. Sirius felt fury building up inside him. Did it matter that practically everyone they knew was getting married? Sirius certainly was not ready for such a step. He had even talked to her about it, but apparently she had views she never shared with him. "You know exactly how I feel."

"I guess I do," Bea continued to glare at him.

Sirius whirled around and left the hall. He didn't want to see the eyes that he knew were on them, didn't want to see the pity in his friends' faces. James knew he was in love in Lily, hell the whole school knew before James did, but Sirius did not know if he was love with Bea. He liked her, enjoyed her company, but didn't know if he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

No one risked his company until after lunch that day, which Sirius skipped. He was not at all surprised that Remus was the first to peek his head inside Sirius's bedcurtains.

"You okay Padfoot?" Remus asked softly.

Sirius snorted, "Forget about her. No girl is tying me down yet."

Peter and James must have taken that as meaning that it was safe to intrude, because they joined Remus and Sirius on the bed.

"We still on for tonight?" James asked them, his eyebrows raised and his grin wide.

"Of course!" Sirius declared. "I would never let a little setback like this disrupt the ultimate plans of the Marauders."

There was laughter all around and Sirius began to feel better. If Bea wanted permanence, which Sirius was not ready for, then he couldn't stay with her. He wanted to have fun for a few years before finally succumbing to adulthood.

"M. Moony," James summoned some parchment, "you doing the Charms?"

Remus rolled his eyes, "But of course M. Prongs. Do you think I would let one of you make a mess of them?"

Pillows smacked Remus on the face, and he held up his hands to ward them off. He took out his wand and directed it at the parchment. James produced four pieces of parchment from his robe pocket and handed them around.

"Everyone ready?" Sirius asked, feeling much better.

The Marauders all nodded and Remus cast the first set of charms. James began speaking.

The staff was mildly nervous at the Leaving Feast. They knew that the Marauders had played some sort of prank at each Leaving Feast with the exception of the year before. Now that they were leaving the school for good, unless, Merlin forbid, one of them came back to teach in the years ahead, they would doubtless do something big that night.

The Cup was announced, Slytherin taking it for that year, and the Feast began. So far nothing had happened. Then there was the squawk of an owl. Minerva looked up and saw one of the only owls that truly resembled its owner headed her way, a red smoking envelope clutched in its beak.

Zeus dropped the envelope at the staff table, circled the hall, and landed on James Potter's shoulder. Lily Evans shook her head, and gave her fiancé a reproachful look. He grinned at her.

Minerva decided she might as well get it over and opened the envelope. It rose into the air, and unlike other howlers it addressed the entire hall rather than her.

"Eh ehm," the magnified voice cleared his throat. Eyes were glued on James Potter. "As many of you know, the Marauders have spent the past seven years attempting to bring a little extra laughter to the hallowed halls of this fine institution. Many of you have been victims of our pranks, and for that we apologize... sort of... after all, we did enjoy every minute of it.

"Most of you are not aware who we are, though many have their suspicions, so we thought we might introduce ourselves. First, we have the brains behind the organization M. Moony."

Minerva shook her head when Remus Lupin stood up on his seat and gave the hall a wave. Which of his friends gave him that nickname? Minerva noted her fellow professors that had their jaws dropped open in surprise. Remus really was a model student, when he wasn't putting his considerable intelligence to use by thinking of new and extraordinary ways to get his friends in trouble.

"Then there's the quiet, the meek, the one who no one notices so he manages to sneak around quite a bit, M. Wormtail!"

Peter Pettigrew stood next to Remus and blushed brightly. Minerva looked over to Albus, wondering why he didn't stop this, but saw he was highly entertained, sucking away on his lemon drops.

"Our next two Marauders are well known for breaking many school records, including scoring in quidditch, scoring after quidditch, and earning more detentions than any previous Hogwarts students, M. Padfoot, and this year's Head Boy, M. Prongs!"

Sirius Black and James Potter jumped up, and Lily Evans hid her head in her arms. Sirius gave a deep bow and James saluted the hall.

"Now," the voice changed and Minerva recognized Remus, "we know that Gryffindor cannot possibly win the House Cup this year, so we feel no qualms about risking an extraordinarily high loss of points. Seeing as we leave this school tomorrow for the wide world outside, there's really no threat of detention either."

"So," Sirius Black picked up the narrative. "The Marauders would like to wish you all a fond farewell, in true Marauder fashion. Seven years here was far too few, but we're pretty sure we passed our exams so we won't be back."

The four boys all pointed their wands at different parts of the hall and each spoke a different incantation. Jets of sparks shot up from the center of each table. Colorful smoke billowed across the floor and fireworks lit up the ceiling. An illusion of golden lions, which had to be Remus's work, started attacking the Slytherin banners which decorated the hall, and silver illusion snakes leapt out of the banners and fled from the lions.

Laughter started at the Gryffindor table and soon filled the hall, though there was very little from the Slytherins. The howler burst into flame and disintegrated, and the smoke cleared. Minerva looked at the Gryffindor table, only to find that the four boys were gone, and little plastic lions sat in their places. One of their housemates picked up one of the lions, squeezed it, and it gave off a loud squeak.

There was another puff of smoke, one in front of each person in the hall, and little squeaky animals appeared before each of them. Badgers were at the Hufflepuff table and in front of those professors who had been in Hufflepuff, Ravenclaws got ravens, Gryffindors lions, and Slytherins of course got snakes. Minerva picked up her own golden lion and gave it a little squeeze, the squeak reminding her of muggle cat toys. She even thought she detected a mild odor of catnip.

Albus was the only one who did not get a single animal. All four Houses were represented in front of the Headmaster, and Minerva wondered if the Marauders had managed to discover what House Albus was sorted into. They general consensus was Gryffindor, but Albus never confirmed or denied the rumor. Minerva herself saw quiet a bit of Slytherin in him, and knew he was studious enough for Ravenclaw, loyal enough for Hufflepuff, and brave enough for Gryffindor.

Minerva couldn't find the Marauders at all that night, though she had no intention of giving them detention on their final night at Hogwarts. Their trunks were all packed, and their walls were bare. She even ventured into Hogsmeade to see if they had managed to sneak past Albus's wards but didn't find them in the Three Broomsticks or in the Hog's Head.

There were students in every year that Minerva felt she connected with to some degree, but none had gotten to her before quite like the Marauders had. She sat quietly in her office that night once she gave up her search, drinking tea and wishing she could assure a pleasant future for her four favorite boys, but knew that with the state of the wizarding world there was no guarantee for anyone.

They did not show at breakfast the next morning, and Minerva could only assume they managed to sneak onto the train with no one noticing. She gave a silent goodbye to the Marauders and returned to the castle, ready to start preparing for the next year.

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	53. 52: Separate Ways

**Chapter Fifty-Two: Separate Ways**

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"Where have you four been?" Lily asked in an accusing tone as the Marauders burst into her train compartment. The train would pull into London in less than half an hour and she had been wondering where her fiancé had disappeared to since dinner the night before. She was the only one there at the moment, as the others had gone to say goodbye to friends from other Houses, and all four of them grinned at her.

"We spent the night talking to Poppy," Remus told her.

"Then we ate breakfast with the elves," James added, punctuating his statement with a kiss. He then proceeded to bounce over to the window, then sit down, then jump up, and Lily began to get dizzy just watching him.

"I haven't had that much chocolate in one sitting in years," Sirius leaned back and patted his stomach.

Lily grinned at gave James a pointed look, "Well that explains him. Really though, chocolate for breakfast?"

"Who said we had chocolate for breakfast?" Peter announced with his own grin.

Remus laughed at Lily's expression. She had to be completely confused, "Poppy has been sort of our secret accomplice for years Lily. She keeps a stock of chocolate in the hospital wing, mostly for homesick first years."

"But she...," Lily let her voice fade.

"...has a soft spot for Remus," Sirius winked at Remus, who just shook his head. "It transferred over to the rest of us when we started visiting the hospital wing the morning after every full moon. She even turned McGonagall away last night and told her she hadn't seen us."

At that Lily's jaw just dropped open. Remus knew exactly what she was thinking. It was incomprehensible that an _adult_, and not just any adult but one that actually worked at Hogwarts, aided teenagers in breaking the rules, and went as far as lying to the Deputy Headmistress about it. James was still adjusting his position every few seconds, and made an interesting contrast to the girl next to him that was practically frozen in shock.

Remus waved a hand in front of her eyes, and Lily snapped back to reality. She frowned and batted his hand away, then sat back and made a valiant, but doomed attempt to still James.

"When does Auror training start?" Peter asked to break the silence.

"July," James answered immediately, "but we have one more test, and they need to approve our N.E.W.T. results first."

"The physical testing is in one week," Sirius added. "That's plenty of time for me to find an apartment."

"Huh?" James turned his head quickly. "I thought you were staying at the Manor?"

Sirius looked uncomfortable, and Remus could relate to his dilemma. The Potters were generous and good people, but neither he nor Sirius could rely on them forever. He bit his lip, "You see James... I mean, I like your folks and all... I just..."

"I get it Padfoot," James waved his hand. "If I didn't have a dozen other places to retreat to I'd probably get an apartment too." His friends gave him peculiar looks, with the exception of Peter, who had known James much longer than any of them. "The Potters own at least fifteen properties, most of which have buildings on them of some sort. I think we have a tavern, and an empty island somewhere. There's a cottage in the Highlands."

Of all of them Remus thought Lily looked the most surprised. Sirius just dismissed the revelation, as no doubt his family was in a similar situation. Remus could vaguely remember the Bonacieux family holdings, but he shut those thoughts away. He didn't want to think about his mother's family at all.

"I'll see all of you at Frank and Alice's wedding then?" Lily's voice had a little tough of sadness in it.

Remus was the only one who shook his head rather than nodding, "It's the day of the full. I can't go."

"But can't you just leave early or something?" Peter protested hopefully.

"No," Remus sighed. He knew this was coming but he had hoped to avoid it. "It wouldn't be safe. I'll owl you my gift though, and will you bring it for me?"

"Of course we will," James straightened up and started fiddling with something in his pocket. "But where are you going to get owl access? I thought they..."

"Someone else will send them for me," Remus said quietly.

Tension grew in the compartment and Sirius asked shrewdly, "Who?"

"I can't tell you," Remus said with conviction.

His friends looked mildly betrayed and Remus hated it.

"You're going back there then," James said vaguely.

Remus nodded. That was the end of that conversation, or so Remus thought.

"You'll be able to visit though, right?" Sirius's eyes had never looked so much like Padfoot's before. He spoke haltingly, like he was unsure of his words. "I mean... you can apparate now... so you can see us... right?"

With a long suffering sigh Remus looked up to the ceiling of the compartment, "I suppose if I must."

"Prat!" Sirius exclaimed and jumped across the compartment to tackle Remus.

Peter skittered out of the way, and James, never one to let an opportunity pass him by, used the distraction to tickle Lily. Her shrieks filled the space, and almost before they knew it the train had pulled into the station and came to a stop. Remus picked himself up off the floor where he had been wrestling with Sirius and dusted his clothes off as if he just stepped out of the Floo.

The five of them, trunks shrunken in their pockets, stepped off the train and onto the platform. They looked at each other, and hugs were exchanged all around, with promises to owl often and to meet at least once a week. Peter was the first of them to leave, having spotted his mother amongst the parents. He flushed and jogged over to her, then they both apparated away.

"I was told to give this to you," Aaron Potter appeared at their sides and handed a small roll of parchment to Remus.

He opened it and recognized the handwriting immediately as Dumbledore's. It seemed he was the Secret Keeper for the Flamels. Remus studied the paper and committed it to memory before offering it back to Aaron. He shook his head, so Remus burned it.

Aaron nodded his approval and turned to Sirius, "You will stay at the Manor until you find a place of your own at least?"

Sirius looked greatly relieved and nodded, "Thank you."

"My parents are expecting me for dinner," Lily smiled at them, kissed James, and disappeared with her own 'crack'.

Remus gave his two friends a smile, nodded at Aaron, and apparated to the address written on the parchment, even if he wasn't due there for another day. As the disorientation faded he saw the familiar sight of the Flamel Manor. He had suspected the summer before that it was in a foreign country, and his suspicions were justified when he read the address. He was in France again.

They welcomed him back 'home' as they put and Remus felt a warmth he hadn't felt in a long time. He wasn't replacing his father, but it felt nice to have something like a family. His pack was scattered now, and they would never all live in the same place again. It would be selfish of him to try.

"Bonjour," Remus greeted Nick and Ellie, who he realized had been able to understand his notes perfectly well.

"We did not know which you were more comfortable with," Ellie summoned a house elf to take his trunk from him. There were only two elves in the Manor, and very little work was given to them, mostly the basic everyday cleaning.

"Either works just fine," Remus smiled. He turned to Nick, "any new improvements?"

They fell right back into the pattern from the summer before. As Perenelle made dinner Nicolas expounded on his latest theories for the potion he was developing.

His friends started writing immediately, and Remus was entertained by all sorts of anecdotes about Sirius's apartment search, Peter's job hunt, and the physical testing for Auror training. James, Sirius, Frank and Alice were all accepted, along with a handful of other applicants, and Remus suspected that it was partially because the Ministry was losing so many Aurors. They couldn't be picky anymore.

The Flamels and Remus were all surprised at dinner a week after Remus arrived with the flash of fire that accompanied the arrival of Fawkes. The message he carried was enough to make Remus clench his jaw, and Nick uncharacteristically swore at its contents.

"You don't have to," Ellie said to Remus clearly. "You would not be the first to say no to Albus."

Remus shook his head, "I know, but I'm the only one who can."

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Sirius didn't bother dragging James into London with him. His friend was off visiting the Evans family, and could be found there nearly any time he wasn't at Potter Manor. Lily had been accepted to train as an Obliviator, and her training started a week before Auror training did, and ended several months earlier. Lily was entering the field before any of the rest of them, a though that made Sirius uneasy. He knew if he was uneasy James had to be practically beside himself.

"You must be Mr. Black," a friendly looking woman answered the door he knocked on. Her white hair was piled in a neat bun on top of her head and she smelled mildly of cats. Sirius knew immediately he couldn't live near so many cats, what with being part dog and all, but he would go through this to be polite.

Hours later he still hadn't found a suitable apartment. He was looking almost exclusively in muggle London, and figured maybe it was time to give Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade a try.

The Leaky Cauldron was a welcome sight. Sirius had no idea where the pub was on the Underground and had never walked so far before in his life. He walked inside and considered that perhaps he should have gone back to the Manor, changed, and then apparated to the Alley, or maybe taken the Floo. It was too late now, and while his muggle clothes were out of place, they might actually help him out.

"What can I do for you?" the barkeeper asked.

Sirius had never spent much time there, but he walked up to the bar, "I'm looking for an apartment to rent."

"Just graduated Hogwarts, eh?" Sirius nodded. The man bent down and came back up with a piece of parchment, which he put on the bar, "Feel free to copy out as many of these as you need."

With a grin Sirius took out his wand and just cast a duplicating spell, and he had his own list of people who had rooms to rent, "Thanks!"

The barkeeper just grunted and put the parchment back under his bar. The man then continued to rub the glasses clean with a rag, and Sirius knew that was his cue to leave. So long as he wasn't actually buying anything he wasn't going to find any conversation with that man.

The fifth door slammed in his face, and Sirius grit his teeth. It was going to be even harder here than in muggle London to find a place of his own to live. In the magical world, though, it was his name that was holding him back. The only witch that had listened past him telling her name was Sirius Black had sent him away when he said he was training to be an Auror. She said she wanted nothing to do with any dangerous sorts.

The names on his list were slowly dwindling away. Anything down Knockturn Alley was immediately eliminated. Not only was that not the safest place to live, but Sirius doubted the Auror program would approve.

"No luck?"

Sirius looked up from where he had flopped down on a sofa to see Viviane Potter looking down on him.

He shook his head and took out the parchment, "None whatsoever, not muggle or magical."

Viviane was perusing the list, her lips pursed, "Hm. Now that you've tried on your own I suppose you'll let me help?"

Sirius knit his brow, wondering what she was talking about. He could use the help though, "Sure."

"Wonderful then," Viviane smiled broadly. "First thing in the morning you and I are heading to London. Dress in respectable muggle clothes, and we'll see what we can find for you."

She was as good as her word, and Sirius's morning became a whirlwind of social visits, not unlike the tea parties his mother had subjected him to time and again. The only difference was the subject matter. It was considerably lighter and less ominous among the more sane population of the wizarding world. To Sirius's surprise they even visited several muggles.

Viviane introduced Sirius to each of her friends as a friend of her son's with a promising career ahead of him as an Auror, or in the case of the muggles, with MI-Five. He wasn't quite sure what that was, but figured he would find out eventually. It was probably the muggle equivalent of an Auror.

It wasn't until lunchtime that her intentions became clear. Sirius had made polite conversation with at least a dozen aging socialites before he realized Viviane was discreetly asking whether any of them owned buildings with apartments to lease.

"I have just the place for a promising young man," one witch answered, picking up on Viviane's questions clearly. "I have a building in Chelsea. It has mixed tenancy, so he'll have to be careful what he says on the lift and whatnot." The witch turned to Sirius, "The Aurors will give you a cover for when you have to interact with muggles. My husband was in the Corps, killed in the line of duty."

Viviane questioned her extensively on things Sirius had no clue about, the rent, the square footage, whether it came already furnished, "Thank you Emmeline. We'll pop over there now."

"Just give this to the building manager," Emmeline bent over a table and wrote out a note on parchment. "He'll know you're a friend and take care of you accordingly."

By the end of the day Sirius had an apartment, most of the furniture he needed, and even some food in his new, to him anyway, icebox. Viviane insisted that Sirius spend one more night in the Manor and that he accept some furniture they had in storage, which an elf would bring over the next day.

In a bit of a daze Sirius just nodded to all her questions, and wondered how any of his friends were coping with the same dilemma. He realized though, that most of them didn't have to find a place to live. As the family heirs, James, Peter, and Frank were all expected to live in their respective family homes. Lily and Alice would stay at home until they married and moved in with their husbands (that thought alone was still making Sirius feel ridiculously old).

Remus had his mysterious hiding place courtesy of Dumbledore, a situation that the other Marauders thought was most peculiar. Aaron would not answer any of their questions about it, nor would Remus. Sirius suspected that Aaron had something to do with Dumbledore helping Remus out, maybe in a similar way to what Viviane was doing for Sirius.

Either way it still bothered Sirius a little, how many secrets there were. Didn't the Marauder Code say that there were no secrets amongst Marauders? Peter wouldn't tell them anything about whatever girl he was dating. Remus refused to say where he was living, or who he was living with. And then there was James. James was hiding something, Sirius knew it.

Sirius had to be the only one of them without any secrets, and he did not like it.

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	54. 53: The Order of the Phoenix Revisited

**Chapter Fifty-Three: The Order of the Phoenix Revisited**

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"Hah!" James Potter jumped up from his chair. "I was right! I knew it!"

Aaron Potter rolled his eyes, looking to his brother and wife for help, but both of them just smiled and their looks clearly said, 'He's your son.'

"Yes, yes James, you were right," Aaron Potter finally said. "Albus has a secret group of witches and wizards that fights against Voldemort. You and Lily are both being invited to join us."

Lily's eyes were shining with determination. She had already been to the scene of two mass muggle killings to alter the memories of survivors and witnesses. James was in training, but he couldn't wait to get out there and do his part. Now, it might come earlier than he expected.

"I'm in," James said eagerly. "Of course I'm in. You knew before you asked." His parents and uncle smiled at him, and he could see the pride in their eyes.

"I'll join as well," Lily stated, her fingers laced with James's. "I've wanted to help ever since Remus told me about You-Know-Who... I just didn't know..." James wrapped an arm about her. "I didn't know it would be so terrible."

There was quiet in the room as her words sank into them all. James guessed that he was the only one of them all who hadn't witnessed the horrors that the war was bringing. Even his mother, who was the founder and head of a relief effort for victims, was in closer contact with the struggles than he was. All that would change in the next week or so, with his first patrol with a full Auror.

Hogwarts had already started up again, and James had been busy with training. He hadn't seen Severus in weeks, though Severus now knew where one of the hidden Potter properties was. When they could meet, they always met there. Lily told James that she had met him a few times, just so he would have someone to talk to. Soon, Severus would test for his Potions Mastery.

James saw Sirius everyday, as they were training together. Frank and Alice had taken only one week to honeymoon in Paris before returning to start Auror training with James and Sirius. Peter got a job at the Ministry, and they saw him occasionally. None of them knew where Remus was though. He had been to London a few times, and they all met at the Leaky Cauldron or a muggle bar and reminisced, but Remus wouldn't say a thing about where he was or what he was doing, beyond 'research'. It had been a full two months since they had heard anything from him. James was a bit worried.

"We'll be heading to headquarters then," Clive stood and held a hand out for his sister-in-law. She took it graciously and stood with them.

"Hold on a sec," James stopped them on their way outside. "What about Sirius, and Remus and Peter?"

He caught the looks his parents and uncle exchanged, and it was his mother who turned back to him, "We do not have much say in who is invited to join James. It is the consensus of the Order based on the recommendation of the members that makes that decision, and Albus can override us all."

That didn't really answer his question, but he would accept it for now. If his friends were not being asked to join yet, he would nominate them himself. Peter's work in the Floo Regulatory Department would certainly be helpful, and Sirius was training as an Auror as well. Remus was just brilliant, and he needed a way to fight more than the rest of them. James suspected that Remus was lonely wherever he was without his pack, and probably bored out of his mind.

James held onto his mother's arm, and Lily took his father's, and their apparition to 'headquarters' was guided by them. When they arrived James almost did a double take.

"I recognize..." he tried to remember when he had seen this house before.

"Of course you do," Aaron Potter said mischievously. "We own it. Your mother and I brought you here a few times before the troubles started."

James gave his father an accusing look, and the man had the gall to laugh. Not only were his parents members of this secret organization, but they _owned_ the headquarters. It was simply inexcusable that he hadn't been told before.

"Get over it," Lily whispered in his ear. "If you stand there in a huff all night you'll miss the meeting, and I won't stay out here and miss it with you."

That was enough to shock James out of his funk and he followed his parents and uncle inside, Lily holding his hand. He smiled at her. They were really going to make a difference in this war, and it was about time.

The large parlor had been adapted to a meeting room. There were maps on the walls, a huge table in the middle of the room with chairs all around it, and at least a dozen wizards and witches milling around. James recognized several faces. There was Emmeline Vance, Dedalus Diggle, Fabian Prewett, and nearly every professor from Hogwarts. Dumbledore wasn't there yet though, and there were a few with their cloaks obscuring their faces.

The door opened, and James turned to see Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody enter with Sirius at his side, Sirius complaining loudly, "Did we have to turn back _three times_? There was no one following us!"

"Constant Vigilance boy!" Mad-Eye shook his finger in Sirius's face.

There were chuckles all around the room and James couldn't help but join in. Sirius spotted him and bounded over. He hugged them both and kissed Lily on the cheek, "Fair Lily, 'tis been far too long since I have been graced with your wondrous beauty."

Lily rolled her eyes, quite used to Sirius's dramatics, "I thought I was a hag impersonating a banshee."

Sirius winced and smacked James's arm, "You told!"

"Of course I did," James grinned. "It was too entertaining to pass up."

James couldn't say how pleased he was that at least one of his friends had been invited to join without his recommendation. Between the two of them they would get Peter and Remus in as well. The door opened again, and this time a cold gust wind entered with the group of four.

"Frank! Mrs. Frank!" Sirius exclaimed in greeting to two of the new arrivals. James guessed it was a night for initiations, as at least five of the attendees were new members. Lily went over to Alice and they began talking in hushed voices.

The witch who came in front of them, Marlene McKinnon, had been a Slytherin, seventh year in their first, and was part of his mother's relief society. The wizard behind them though was Caradoc Dearborn, one of the trainers at the Auror Academy. He had to be the one who brought Frank and Alice.

Dumbledore came in then, and the gathered wizards and witches immediately began taking seats around the table. James noticed that there were two empty, and that Dumbledore looked at those seats closely before beginning.

"To those of you who are here for your first time," Dumbledore began, "welcome to The Order of the Phoenix. Our purpose is to prevent the spread of darkness however we can, and to bring down Voldemort," (there was a collective flinch all around the table), "and his Death Eaters. To introduce our new members..."

With that Aaron Potter stood and James felt a surge of pride that his father was no doubt highly placed here as well as in the Ministry, "As you all may have guessed we have, of course, the fruit of my loins, James, and his fiancé, who works as an Obliviator, Lily Evans. Next to them is Sirius Black, who is training as an Auror." There was a scattered murmur, but a glare from Dumbledore ended it. "Frank and Alice Longbottom are also in training, and I believe that is all for this evening."

Dumbledore nodded his head and Aaron Potter sat down, "That brings us four more Aurors, and we must be careful in our recruiting, lest the Ministry begin to suspect their Aurors are working for an outside concern." Fabian Prewett shifted in his seat and Dumbledore nodded at him. Fabian smiled and settled down.

"Is there any new business?" Dumbledore asked. There were some whispers around the table, but no one spoke up. "Very well then, reports."

One after another, various witches and wizards stood, gave their names and occupations and read off a report of some sort. There was talk of the movements of Death Eaters, theories about their future plans and goals, suspected Death Eater identities. One witch stood, and James was shocked to see it was Arabella Figg, not a witch but a squib. He hadn't thought about her in ages, and felt guilty for it. She had moved away to an entirely muggle area, and was reporting on the muggle news reports regarding Death Eater attacks.

Dumbledore opened his mouth but speak again, but the door flew open, slammed against the wall in the entryway, and two figures came in, one of them towering above the other.

The identity of the taller of the pair was obvious. It was Hagrid, the Hogwarts groundskeeper. He stumbled in, leaning on his shorter companion, and James wondered who would be able to support Hagrid's weight. Then again, with lightening charms it might be possible. The second of the two was wearing a voluminous cloak, and it was impossible to even tell if he was skinny or stocky.

Poppy Pomfrey, who rarely attended meetings but had been asked specifically to be there that night, jumped up from her seat and immediately began casting spells over the two newcomers, the shorter of the two pushing away her wand. A quiet argument between them ensued, and she settled it by hugging the shorter one tightly and continuing to work on Hagrid.

There was near silence around the table. James heard a few whispers, most likely speculations as to why Hagrid was injured and who was with him.

"What do you suppose is going on?" Sirius leaned over and whispered.

James shrugged, "No clue. I expect we'll find out soon though."

The head of Hagrid's companion snapped towards them, and James felt a shiver. It was if he had heard what they were saying. James was assuming the person was male, as he was much taller than Pomfrey. He would not automatically say the person was a wizard though, as there was already one squib present.

Someone flicked their wand and two large mugs appeared at the empty seats. Hagrid stumbled towards one of them, aided by his companion. The companion, now definitely a wizard, flicked his own wand, enlarging one of the chairs for Hagrid, and sat down next to him, cloak still pulled around his face like several other members.

Dumbledore looked at them with concern, and James noticed both his parents sending worried looks their way as well.

"I fear your mission did not go well Hagrid," Dumbledore said gravely.

Hagrid shook his head and drank his rather large mug in one pull. The foam left on his beard suggested that it was mead or beer in the mug, and the witch next to him tapped the mug with her wand, refilling it. Hagrid thanked her with a pat on the back, which nearly sent her crashing into the table. She inched her chair away from him just slightly.

"The giants won' take our side, but I don' know if they're with _Him_," Hagrid said with a shiver. "I got in a bi' of a tigh' spot der, but lucky fer me 'e," Hagrid gestured to the wizard next to him calmly drinking some of his own mead, "was in the neighborhood."

"Put your hood back," Dumbledore ordered. His eyes were twinkling brightly. "Your identity will no longer be a secret I dare say, after this evening. Hagrid can fill me in on his details later. How was your trip?"

"Trip?" the voice behind was familiar, but a little roughened, and concern came into Dumbledore's eyes yet again. Poppy gripped her wand as if wanting to take the wizard away and start healing him. "It wasn't exactly a vacation on the beach, though as I've never been on one I'll just have to assume."

The hood was fling back and James saw out of his peripheral vision that Sirius's jaw had dropped open, and suspected his own was hanging. Lily, however, jumped up from her seat and rushed around the table to the other side, "Remus!"

That, at least, explained how someone was able to support Hagrid's weight. Remus's appearance was disturbing though. He had a gash over one eye, and one side of his face was severely bruised. His hair was messy, quite unusual for Remus, and getting shaggy. He stood to hug Lily as she came around and inspected his wounds. James noticed that Remus was moving stiffly, which at least explained why he didn't recognize his friend's form.

"Sit down Lee," Remus said in his gentle, yet commanding voice. James recognized it now, even if it did sound scratchier than usual. "I'll be fine. I'm hurt worse than this often enough."

Lily's eyes filled with tears, but she did as Remus said and returned to her seat next to James, where she gripped his hand tightly.

"Close your mouth Padfoot," Remus said, his eyes teasing, "you'll catch flies."

There was chuckling around the table and Sirius's face flushed. It was obvious that Remus had been there before. There was no introduction for him, even though Dumbledore had said his identity was a secret before. Well, if he had wanted the Marauders not to give away their friend's identity, they would have been told.

"Remus?" Dumbledore prompted.

"Sorry Albus," Remus replied with a sigh. He put a hand on Hagrid's shoulder, and Hagrid patted it with one of his massive hands. "Most of this is from the giants, though I didn't fare too well myself. Nearly all the werewolves have joined Voldemort."

There were hisses around the table, flinches, and Sirius was staring at their friend again. Not only was Remus saying... You-Know-Who's name, but he was pretty much openly announcing that he's a werewolf. Hagrid glared at a few select people around the table, and James was surprised to see that Mad-Eye was doing the same, along with all three elder Potters, Poppy, and McGonagall.

Dumbledore was concentrating on Remus, "Nearly all?"

"Those who are not on his side are staying neutral." Remus wavered a bit and gripped Hagrid's shoulder. James suspected his injuries were worse than he was allowing. "They have no love for the Ministry... any Ministry. A few of them openly carry the Mark, and nothing is done about it."

"We should raid the colonies," Dearborn, one of those who was giving Remus a wary eye, pronounced.

Remus laughed, but it was a bitter laugh, "That would be a suicidal idea. A good half of the werewolves in each colony are wizards or witches. You wouldn't stand a chance."

"That's enough Remus," Dumbledore gave him a sharp look. Remus nodded and sat down, picking up his mead and drinking deeply. "There will be no raids on werewolf colonies. We do not have the numbers nor the skills to take them on."

There were several mutterings that sounded upset, but Mad-Eye started laughing, "Try dueling with the boy, and then see if you want to try it against dozens of them. I can't even disarm him."

Eyes went wide, and Remus gave Mad-Eye a thankful smile. Mad-Eye just nodded to Remus.

"Did you get any indication of planned attacks?" Dumbledore questioned Remus.

Remus shook his head, "They knew at once that I was not on their side, and I was challenged more than once towards the end." Lily's hold on James's hand tightened, and he could understand why. Remus had been in fights with other werewolves, and _then_ with giants. "I was planning to leave anyway when I got Hagrid's message asking for help. I didn't dare spend another full moon among them. I doubt I would have survived."

"Thank you Remus," Dumbledore nodded his head at the brains behind the Marauders. "I hated to ask it of you, but you were our best emissary."

"I swore that I would do everything I could do to help you," Remus's soft declaration was clearly meant for Dumbledore, and quite a few of the Order members were taken aback. Oaths were not taken lightly in the wizarding world.

It wasn't much longer before the meeting broke up, and James was unable to corner Remus. Poppy had taken him by the arm and practically dragged him into another room.

"Don't question him now," Viviane Potter's voice was stern.

James spun to face his mother, and saw that Sirius was looking for an explanation as well. It was clear that Remus had joined before them, and they wanted to know how long their friend had been lying to them.

"Mum...," James started, then winced at his mother's expression.

"Do not 'Mum' me James Aaron Potter," James's mother was speaking quietly, but she may as well have been yelling at him. "Remus has just returned from a difficult mission. He has been living in those _colonies_ for three months now trying to sway some of them to our side. It is a waste of his talent, but he was the only one who could do it."

"It must have been horrible," Lily spoke for the first time since Remus had been revealed. "He's not violent by nature, and he had to..."

She sniffed, and James hugged her tightly. Sirius was looking at the floor, studying the pattern of the carpet, his face ashamed.

Poppy came down the stairs then and gave James a small smile. She didn't stop though, but crossed to Marlene McKinnon, who had been talking to Mad-Eye, "I've given him a sleeping potion, though I practically had to petrify him and pour it down his throat." The two women exchanged grins. "He'll be here for the night, and I don't want him apparating anywhere tomorrow."

Marlene saluted, "Got it Poppy."

"I'll pass the message along," Mad-Eye Moody said from next to them. "Do you want me to leave a Portkey for him?"

"Can you?" Marlene looked intrigued, though James couldn't figure out why.

Mad-Eye shook his head, "Nah, but one was made for me for emergencies."

Marlene and Poppy both shook their heads in exasperation, but Marlene held her hand out. Mad-Eye handed her a wrapped package from one of his pockets and a slip of parchment.

The house was emptying out, and James guessed he wasn't going to get to see Remus that night. He felt strange, like some drastic change had taken place long ago and he was only now catching up to it. An arm draped over his shoulder, and James turned to see his father at his side.

"Let's talk boys," Aaron said in a serious tone, "and Lily."

The three of them joined Aaron outside and the Head of Potter immediately began talking, "Simeon Potter was killed because he was one of us." James felt his eyes widen. That was a hell of way to begin the conversation. "As you know, Simeon told Remus he was a private contractor. He was actually an Unspeakable. When you all started at Hogwarts, Albus recruited Simeon, and tasked him to work on some spells. Simeon discovered how talented Remus is with numbers and whatnot, and enlisted his son's assistance on his work for the Order."

"Damn," Sirius pretty much summed up how they were all feeling.

"Albus offered Remus the chance to continue his father's work for the Order when Simeon died," Aaron explained to the three stunned teenagers. "Without Remus, we would have been set back at least a year on that project alone, and those who would have started to work on it would have had to abandon other work.

"Remus had to swear he wouldn't say a word to any of you about it, and I don't want you making him feel guilty for that, am I understood?" Aaron gave them each a sharp look.

There were three nods and James answered for all of them, "Yes Dad."

He still couldn't help the little feeling of betrayal. Three years... for three years Remus had been an active part of the resistance against You-Know-Who and had said nothing to his pack.

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	55. 54: The Dark Mark Burns

**Chapter Fifty-Four: The Dark Mark Burns**

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Peter was shaking, literally. He almost wished that Aaron hadn't stopped in to see him, hadn't issued that invitation that Peter could not resist. Now Peter was a minor member of The Order of the Phoenix, and Lucius couldn't be happier.

He didn't want Lucius to be happy, because that meant that the war was going well for the dark. Then again, he did want Lucius happy, because that meant Peter was less likely to be hit with the Cruciatus Curse. He could safely say he had more than enough of that for a lifetime.

James and Sirius were busy with Auror training, and Remus was off at his mysterious hiding place, so Peter had very little contact with his friends. This was good, because he couldn't betray any information that he didn't have, but it was bad, because he had nothing for Lucius when he showed up at the apartment Peter had rented in Diagon Alley to get away from his parents.

Not until the third Saturday in November anyway, when he told Lucius he had been inducted into the Order.

Lucius let a smile spread over his face, "Your value has just increased markedly Pettigrew."

Then Lucius grabbed his arm and pulled him along with him. Peter hated apparating, that feeling of being squeezed into a tiny tube, and it was even worse when it was tandem apparition and unexpected.

They arrived in a dungeon. There was really no other way to describe it. The hall was dank and cold, the stones moist. It was dark, the torches along the walls giving off just enough light so that Peter didn't walk into a wall or fall flat on his face.

He didn't want to be... wherever he was. He didn't want to be following Lucius Malfoy towards some unknown he could only guess at... and those guesses made his blood turn cold. Peter felt he was lucky he hadn't lost control of his functions, but he had long ago accepted that he was going to spend the rest of his life being afraid. In some ways, he hoped that was going to be a very short time.

Stairs led up out of the dungeon, winding around and steep. Peter had to be very careful not to tread on the hem of Lucius's cloak. He didn't want to make Lucius mad, not when he was so happy already... if you could call it happy.

Once out of the dungeons they entered a corridor that could only be part of a wizarding Manor, one not quite as old as Potter Manor. The walls were plaster, and there were corridors, rather than towers with rooms off central stairs. Tapestries hung on the walls, and they were moving. Peter didn't even try to figure out the subject of any of them. He just noted that there was plenty of blood and fighting.

Portraits sneered down at him, and Peter saw that they were all blonde, light blonde. He was in Malfoy Manor... or at least a Malfoy property. Peter tried to erase the thought from his mind. He didn't want to know exactly where he was. Lucius led him to a room with precariously balanced breakable antiques. Peter broke out in a sweat just seeing all the possibilities for blunders on his part.

"Sit," Lucius ordered, pointing to a chaise lounge.

Peter obeyed and Lucius left the room. He fiddled with the edge of his cloak, glad that he hadn't taken it off before Lucius essentially kidnapped him. Peter certainly wasn't here of his own free will. The thought was almost enough to get a nervous laugh out of him. Peter hadn't done anything of his own free will for so long he could hardly remember a time when he wasn't a puppet, Lucius Malfoy tugging at his strings. Lucius had even quietly done something, and Peter did not want to know what, to get Peter the job he got in the Floo Regulatory Department.

It felt like hours before Lucius returned, and when he did Peter started shaking in earnest. His heart was thudding and he wouldn't have been able to speak if Lucius had his wand at Peter's chest.

"Put these on," Lucius threw a robe and cloak at Peter, and the very worst of all... a white mask.

The robe and cloak were easy. After all, they were just black clothes, cut a little differently than any Peter had ever worn, but black all the same. It was almost like being back at Hogwarts.

The white mask was another matter entirely. It was stiff, and had openings at the eyes, but nowhere else. He guessed that there was some sort of charm on it so it didn't muffle speech or prevent breathing. Peter looked up at Lucius, who was sneering down at him.

"I will not wait all night Pettigrew," Lucius hissed, putting his own mask on his face. That had to be yet another charm on the masks. They just stayed in place without any ties or anything.

Peter's hand trembled as he lifted the mask. He never thought it would go that far. He thought maybe he would just be a source of information for Lucius, and when it was all over he could fade back into obscurity. Lucius would ensure that Peter was never caught, because Peter could bring Lucius down with him. Everything went dark for just a moment and then Peter could see as if he wasn't even wearing the mask. It clung to his face and felt strange. He moved his jaw, but the mask didn't move.

A hand reached out and grabbed the front of his robes, pulling him to his feet. Lucius reached over Peter's shoulders and yanked the hood of the cloak over his head.

"Do not speak unless you are spoken to, and then you give straight, clear answers," Lucius's voice came from behind the mask.

Peter nodded. He could back out... he could still back out... who was he kidding? He had been stuck from that first day, from the very moment Narcissa Black... no... Narcissa Malfoy now... kissed him. Someone had known exactly how to trap him, how to make sure he could never get away. Peter was not powerful enough to stand up to Death Eaters, or to the Dark Lord. He shuddered, just knowing that it had become instinct to call _Him_ the Dark Lord, instead of You-Know-Who.

Lucius walked off again, and Peter hastened to follow. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. At least as a follower Peter wouldn't be targeted by Death Eaters... and he had powerful friends on the side of light. If he was ever accused... who would ever believe that no-talent Peter Pettigrew was a Death Eater? What would Voldemort want with someone like him?

They apparated again, Lucius roughly grabbing Peter and dragging him along with him. When they appeared again they were in front of a massive house. It was dark enough outside that Peter couldn't see any of the surroundings. There was the tingle of wards inspecting them, and Lucius kept a hand on Peter the whole time.

"Come," Lucius ordered quietly.

Peter picked up his pace, but still stayed just behind Lucius. They went to the front door, and Lucius said something, his hand pressed against the door. It opened for him, and they stepped inside.

"Your arm," a man, cloaked and masked as they were, demanded as they walked in.

Lucius held forward his left arm and pulled his sleeve back. Peter recoiled at the sight of the black skull with the black snake protruding from its mouth.

Lucius sneered. Peter couldn't see the expression of the older wizard behind the mask but he knew Lucius was sneering. He gestured to Peter with his right hand, "This is with me."

"Are you expected?" the door wizard asked.

"Yes," Lucius snarled. "Do you think I would be foolish enough to come unbidden?"

The door guard nodded and stepped back. Lucius strode forward and Peter scurried behind him. They went up a flight of stairs and down a dark hall to a room that was emitting a faint candlelight.

Inside was a man in a leather chair, his legs crossed and book propped on his lap. He was of medium height, and slight build. His hair was dark and his eyes a piercing green. He could have been a relation to the Potters, but Peter knew that he couldn't be. There was no indication of age. He could have been twenty-five or fifty-five for all Peter knew.

Lucius knelt down and took up the robe of the man seated in the chair, kissing the hem, "My Lord."

Peter felt his jaw drop. _This_ was the Dark Lord, the wizard feared by the entire wizarding world? Peter was frozen in place, not believing his eyes. The man didn't look evil, or even particularly powerful.

Then a change came over his face. He looked up at Peter and his eyes narrowed to slits. They flashed red, then back to their much more normal green. Lips pressed together and formed a thin line, and a hiss escaped from them.

Peter jumped when he felt a sliding pressure against his legs. He almost fainted when he looked down and saw the largest snake he had ever encountered slithering towards the Dark Lord. The man continued to hiss, and the snake hissed back, and Peter could have sworn the man laughed, only it was so hard to tell with those hissing sounds.

Parseltounge. Peter was hearing Parseltongue. It was rumored that the Dark Lord could speak to snakes, but no one really knew for certain. No one knew anything about him. The man before him could casually stroll down Diagon Alley and no one would know who it was they were brushing up against.

"You fool!" Lucius was standing again and he slapped Peter across the face. "Show respect."

Peter didn't think he had stopped trembling since Lucius had stolen him out of his apartment that night. He slowly fell to his knees and bowed his head, not knowing if he should kiss the hem of the robes like Lucius had. A not so gentle kick to his posterior told Peter that was exactly what was expected of him.

It was humiliating, debasing, and was probably designed that way. Peter felt dirty and desperately wanted to brush his teeth, but didn't dare show his disgust. He would be dead and burned before he knew what hit him.

"This is your informant on the Potters Lucius?" the man still had a hissing quality to his voice.

"Yes, Master," Lucius was completely abasing himself. If nothing else, this whole terrifying experience was worth seeing the great Lucius Malfoy humbled.

"Why do you bring him to me now?" the Dark Lord questioned.

Lucius had to be smirking, "He has a new position which is most desirable Lord."

"Rise," the long fingered hand of the Dark Lord gripped Peter's chin painfully and brought him to his feet. "Remove your mask and tell me."

Peter's shaking hand took the mask off his face and he felt almost naked before this man despite the full cut robes and cloak, "I-I've b-been, I j-joined the Order of the Ph-Phoenix."

_Crucio!_

Peter fell to the floor, screams torn from his throat. It was ten times, a thousand times worse than what Lucius hit him with, even though it ended quickly.

"That was only a taste," the Dark Lord hissed viciously. "You will address me as Master or Lord. Give me your arm."

Peter fought back the bile that was rising in his throat. He held out his left arm, "Y-Yes Master."

The smirk that crossed the Dark Lord's face was exponentially more malicious than anything Peter had ever been subjected to from Malfoy or Snape. They were amateurs in comparison. The Dark Lord grabbed Peter's wrist and his fingers dug into the flesh. He forced back Peter's sleeve and pointed his wand at the forearm.

_Mosmorde!_

The pain was unbelievable. Peter thought his whole arm was on fire, slowly burning from the inside out. He bit his lower lip, tasted blood, and finally cried out. Tears streamed down his face and stung when they hit his cut lip.

"You will inform me of the Order's plans and their knowledge of our activities," the Dark Lord stood and walked around Peter. Peter clutched his left arm to his chest and continued to whimper. "In time you may earn rewards beyond your imagining." Peter still could not stand. "For this magnificent gift Lucius, you will be rewarded."

"Thank you, my Lord," Lucius bowed his head and spoke in a restrained, polite tone.

The Dark Lord stopped and turned back to Peter, "Stand!"

Peter did, his body obeying without even consulting his mind. The Dark Lord pulled out Peter's left arm and pressed his fingers to the Mark. It burned again and Peter cried out again. Lucius slipped his mask back on, and Peter followed his lead, doing the same.

After only a few minutes the first footsteps were heard coming up the stairs. Lucius yanked on Peter's robe, and Peter stumbled back to stand beside Lucius. The room was eventually filled with twenty wizards in masks and robes. The Dark Lord stood from his chair again, the snake curling around his feet, and pulled his own cloak around his body, not bothering with a mask.

"I feel the urge to celebrate," the Dark Lord's words brought excited murmurs to the room. "We have recently gained a spy in Dumbledore's little Order. I am most pleased with this turn of events. The wizarding world will fall at my feet."

The Dark Lord swept out of the room, and the wizards followed him. Peter joined them, not knowing what he was supposed to do. Once outside the house the Dark Lord apparated away, and Peter felt a tugging on his whole being. The others were apparating, and Peter did too, letting the tug pull him.

A village came into focus, and Peter saw the other masked wizards going into houses and bringing out the occupants, petrified, magically tied, stunned, or however. Some were clearly under the Imperious Curse.

"With me," Lucius's voice growled in a low tone and Peter wondered how Lucius could still identify him.

It didn't really matter though. He followed the other wizard, and one more went with them. They entered a house and Lucius pushed Peter towards a room. He went inside and saw a little girl in her bed. She bolted upright.

"Please... please no... MUMMY!"

Peter felt he would burst into tears. Something inside him hardened then. He looked down at the little girl and tried to tell himself she was only a muggle, just one insignificant muggle. He leaned down and whispered, "Sorry, but it's you or me... and I have to choose me."

_Petrificus Totalus!_

The girls stopped screaming and crying as her limbs snapped to her sides and every muscle in her body, with the exception of her heart, froze. Peter flicked his wand and levitated her out to the street where everyone else was gathered.

"Beautiful," the Dark Lord walked up next to Peter and traced the girl's face with one long finger. He licked his finger, "Her pain is delicious. Begin with her."

It had to be a test of some sort, for newcomers, and Peter knew what he was supposed to do... he had just never done it before. He let the girl drop to the ground, took off the petrifying hex, and pointed his wand at her. He didn't think he'd be able to use Cruciatus, but as the close friend of Sirius Black he had learned many other curses that approached gray areas of morality. They were all spells with other uses, but when used on people they were painful, some probably unbearable. The girl tried to crawl away, whimpering, and Peter knew he had to act.

Peter cast a charm that was used to adjust the tailoring on clothes. It could be used to make clothes fit a little better... or in this case to make the girl's clothes squeeze her. She gasped at first, then turned to Peter with her eyes large and her mouth open... and then she started to cry. As Peter held the spell she started to scream. Her hands and feet started to turn blue, and the other Death Eaters laughed and clapped.

He released her and she just laid there, her cries quiet. Peter felt sick, even worse than he had before. She was a child, just a small child, and he had hurt her. Peter was a monster.

"Creative," the Dark Lord allowed. He looked around at his Death Eaters. "Perhaps her father is here?"

One of them nodded and pointed his wand at a man who had been stunned. He revived the man, who jumped up and took in his surroundings quickly. The man spotted his daughter quickly and ran to her, but did not make it there.

_Imperio!_

Peter returned to his flat and instantly fled to his bathroom. Images of the night flashed through his mind. He could smell burning flesh, blood, human waste, and there were smells he couldn't identify, didn't want to know what they were. He was sick over and over, past the point where his stomach was empty and the bile was just burning his throat with each heave.

He had kept the mask and robe and cloak, was told to find a secret place and hide them in his apartment. He would need them whenever he was called. Peter was to inform Lucius of when the Order was meeting, so that the Dark Lord would not summon Peter while he was in a meeting.

His stomach heaved again, and it felt like a shredding charm had been directed down his throat. Still, the images paraded through his mind. Peter flushed and stood at the sink. He turned on the water and rinsed out his mouth, splashed cold water on his face. He could not look at his reflection, was afraid of what he might see there. He had participated, had tortured, had killed. If there had been any chance to turn back, to give himself to the mercy of Aaron Potter, it was gone now.

Peter got in the shower and rubbed his skin raw. He would never be clean again.

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	56. 55: Pulled Out of the Darkness

**Chapter Fifty-Five: Pulled Out of the Darkness**

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James said goodbye to his fellow Auror trainees. Sirius winked at him as he left, and James just smirked. So far as Sirius and James's parents knew, James was spending a weekend away with Lily, just the two of them. Lily, however, was going to France and meeting up with Bea for the weekend, who was stopping there on her way home for the holiday. Lily would make Bea swear not to tell anyone they were meeting, for safety she would say. James was spending the weekend with Severus. They had not been together for weeks, and it was nearing Christmas.

Highlands Cottage was a welcoming sight. It had snow covering the roof, and the grounds were a sparkling white. There were some footsteps in the blanket of snow outside, and smoke rose in twisting tendrils from the chimney. Severus had already arrived.

James opened the door and stepped into the warmth, his cheeks suddenly flushed with the change in temperature.

"James?" Severus's voice came from the kitchen.

James followed it and saw Severus standing at the stove, preparing dinner. Severus was a better cook than James could ever dream to be. James was lucky if he didn't burn toast, whereas Severus could easily become a chef. He assumed it had something to do with all those hours he spent over cauldrons.

"Sev," James didn't bother removing his cloak. He wrapped his arms around Severus and drew him into a deep kiss.

Severus pushed him away, "Get out of that cloak and your boots, and for Merlin's sake clean up all that snow. There are no elves to clean up after you here!"

He just couldn't help it. James grinned, grinned so hard that his cheeks hurt. Just at that moment Severus sounded like his mother sometimes did when she was talking to his father... not that he assigned Sev the female role in their relationship. Neither of them was really feminine. That was Lily's job.

The cloak was hung on a peg, the boots neatly stowed in the hall, and James cleaned up the slush and snow and dirt he had tracked into the cottage. He then cast a cleaning charm on himself, and his clothes, and dried his socks. He had gotten them wet as he had been thick enough to take off his boots and _then _walk through all that slush to put his boots down in the entrance.

"Smells good," James closed his eyes and let the smells waft over him. "What are we eating?"

Sev shook his head, "I will never understand you and food. Yes, it is good, but you act like each meal is the first you have had in days." James just gave him his 'puppy dog eyes'. They faltered though, when he thought he saw a flash of anger, or annoyance, in Severus's eyes, but that was gone almost before James thought he saw it. "We are having broiled steak with a red wine sauce, julienne potatoes, popovers, and glazed carrots."

His mouth was watering just at the thought of all that food. James opened the cabinets and took out dishes, pulled silverware out of drawers (some of the only silverware still at a Potter property that was actually silver, as Remus never came to the cottage), and took out two wine glasses. He poured the wine, and sat down just as Severus was putting the food on the table. There were candles, and the lights in the cottage were dimmed.

"Romantic," James commented. Severus rolled his eyes, as James knew he would, but a little smile danced across his lips.

They did not talk much at first during the meal, as much of what they did could not be shared. James knew that Severus bore the Dark Mark, and Severus knew James was in the Order. They did not talk about either one when they were together by mutual agreement. They also used minimal magic when they were at the cottage, as if by not using magic they could ignore those troubles in the outside world that caused so many difficulties for them.

"Your test was this week, wasn't it?" James tried to remember the exact date Severus had told him. The look he received in response told him he had remembered accurately. James shifted in his seat, feeling anticipation rise up in him, "Well?"

Severus smirked and James felt his heart leap. He knew exactly what that smirk meant. "You are looking at the youngest Potions Master in the past five hundred years."

"Yes!" James jumped up from the table, pulled Severus out of his seat, and kissed him. "I knew it!" They sat again, and though it was not in Sev's character to grin, there was a little smug smile on his face. James, however, was beaming, "I told you it would happen. I'm so proud of you!"

At that Sev's face darkened briefly, and a hurt look made James swallow. Again, Severus quickly recovered his usual almost unreadable look.

"Sev...," James said softly.

A quick glare, "No James. I have no wish to discuss my uncle, or much of anything else."

Severus stood and brought his cleared dishes to the sink. James decided he was done as well and flicked his wand to dispose of the remaining food. His dishes joined Severus's. He stood behind the newly vested Potions Master and wrapped his arms around him, nuzzling his neck, "We don't need to talk about anything you don't want to talk about."

Without a word Severus turned and captured James's lips beneath his. They stood there in the kitchen, kissing fiercely, as if any aggressions they brought with them could be bled out of their systems if they kissed hard enough. James could almost swear he could feel the imprint of his teeth in the back of his lips when they drew apart. He looked into Sev's eyes, those deep dark eyes, and saw lust combined with something... something James couldn't identify... something he had no experience with whatsoever.

Almost before he knew it they were in the bedroom, ripping at each other's robes, uncovering skin as quickly as they could. Severus shoved James and he landed on the bed on his back. No sooner had he landed then Severus was on him, kissing him again.

Severus had never been this dominant before, had never been so... so violent in their sex. James had certainly had sessions of sex before that left him almost incapable of movement after, but not with Severus. This was something new, something to do with that indecipherable emotion he saw in Severus's eyes.

If Severus needed this though, James was going to give it to him. He didn't mind it rough now and then. He actually preferred being the bottom with Severus, as there was no way he could get that from Lily, though it was usually half one way, and half the other. If anything, James topped more than Severus did.

This though... this forceful taking, was not Sev. If James was not completely willing to let Severus have what he needed, this would be rape. That realization almost made James lose any sense of arousal. Severus only barely prepared James, and he was certainly not paying attention to James's needs. When James moved to stroke himself Severus slapped his hand away.

Severus wrapped his hand around James tightly, almost painfully. It was just at that barrier of pain and pleasure and James thought he might explode. Either that or he would not cum at all. Severus lightened his grip just enough and moved his hand quickly as his thrust sped up. They both cried out, and Severus collapsed on James.

After a few moments of silence Severus rolled away, his back to James.

James closed his eyes tightly. He had no idea what was going on with Severus, and he needed to know, needed to know why Severus had felt it necessary to nearly rape him, "What was that?"

Severus got out of the bed and walked away a bit. He turned, and there was a cruel sneer on his face, that sneer that was never for James anymore, and his chest tightened with the pain of seeing it directed at him, "And I thought you were the experienced one."

He flinched. That voice was cold and distant. The flicker of something he saw in the kitchen was back, and stronger. It was darkness. James hardened himself against it, "Last I checked, my experience did not include rape."

There was a flash of hurt, and then it was buried behind a deeper pain. Severus grasped his left arm and swore more fluently than James had heard from anyone in a long time, "I have to go."

"Come back," James stood and demanded while Severus dressed. He had summoned black robes and cloak from the wardrobe, along with a white mask James had never thought he would see off someone's face. "We are not finished here."

The moment they just looked at each other across the room was an eternity. James felt his chest burning. Severus gave him a quick, sharp nod, and left the room at a quick pace, his robes and cloak billowing out behind him, white mask clutched in his hand.

All the energy left him then and James went limp. He clutched the bed for support and winced as he tried to walk across the room. A quick healing spell made it easier to move, and he dressed in loose trousers and a jumper, with thick wool socks that Albus had given him, that he gave to every member of the Order.

What was James supposed to do? He was almost surprised this had never happened before. Severus had never been summoned when they were together. Hell, Severus did everything he could to keep James from seeing his Mark, though James had gotten glimpses of it.

He was tempted to Floo the Auror's office, but what would he tell them? It was a given that there was Death Eater activity, and Severus may have been summoned just to brew a potion or something. Of course, they would also ask how he got the information. Telling them he had just finished fucking a Death Eater before he was summoned would not exactly go over well. Just by knowing Severus had the Mark, and not doing anything about it, was enough to get James fired and possibly sent to Azkaban himself.

It was hours later, well into the early morning when Severus returned. James had been sitting at the fire all night, staring at the flames and thinking about the situation he had landed himself in. Part of him told him to get out, to leave Severus and salvage his life the best he could. He knew he never could though, as there was that part of him that loved Severus deeply and always would.

He felt his jaw drop. Severus's ropes were dampened in a few places, but it was his mask, still on his face, which gave him away. There was a splatter of red across it... blood.

"Sev..." James was clutching his wand tightly. If Severus even touched his wand James would have to stun him.

There was no movement, then Severus reached up and took off the mask. He looked at for a minute, then sneered and tossed it on the floor. He removed the cloak, but left on the robes. James knew he had nothing on underneath.

Almost without thought James brought his wand up and pointed it at Severus. Quickly, his position was mirrored and he was staring down Severus's wand to cold, hard eyes.

"Where did Sev go?" James asked almost desperately, not letting his voice shake, or quiver. "I do not know the man standing before me."

"You knew what I was!" Severus snarled. "You've always known. Did you think I just brewed potions? I'm a fucking Death Eater. I torture. I kill."

James wanted to cry. He had not felt this empty and pained any time in his memory, "I know what your uncle forced you to do, but you enjoyed it." Then louder, "You bastard, you enjoyed it! I can see it! You are not Sev! Did you fucking kill him too? Did you enjoy taking me like I was some random piece of flesh you were going to kill afterwards? Rapist! Murderer!" Sparks shot out of his wand in his anger.

The wand pointed at James wavered and he saw Sev again. There was the sound of wood clattering as the wand dropped to the ground and Severus tore at his robes franticly. He was cursing and ripping at the black robes, tearing them in his haste to get them off.

James flicked his wand and the robe and boots were off him, and Severus stood there naked and shivering, though not from the cold. He took a hesitant step forwards, and Severus matched it, then stumbled and fell to his knees. He vomited, and James cleaned the mess up instantly.

He continued to retch, and James knelt on the floor, vomit seeping into his trousers, but he didn't pay it any attention. He held back Severus's hair and stroked his back.

"It was a gift!" Severus managed once he had completely emptied his stomach, "A sick twisted gift."

"What was?" James asked in a soothing tone, still stroking Severus's bare back. He cleaned up the floor and led Severus to the couch, wrapping him in a blanket that had been folded and draped over the back. "What was it for?"

"For me," Severus told him a hollow voice. "It was my gift, for completing my Mastery so quickly, so well. I have the highest score on record James, and what did my uncle do? He told the Dark Lord, and _He_ called me to celebrate."

Severus was shaking so hard James though he might break. He wished he had calming potion, or anything really. He finally remembered how to conjure up a tea set and did his best to make it calming tea. Severus drank some of the tea and it seemed to help. He continued his story, but in such a monotone that James felt true fear.

"My gift for being a talented and skilled potions maker was a family," Severus laughed bitterly, "a family of muggles. I was expected to torture them all... the parents... the children... and enjoy it. The whole inner circle was there to watch, even if I never saw their faces, and they... they were... _proud_ of me. I never thought..."

James felt a pit stretching wide in his stomach, a canyon that would be so easy to fall into and just keep falling forever. He kept himself away from it, focused on Sev rather than the words, the horrors of what he had done. Severus told him every detail, for the first time. Despite his training at the Auror Academy, despite his work with the Order, James had never been privy to exactly what Death Eaters were capable of.

When Severus finished neither of them had dry eyes. Severus's voice had eventually trailed off and he was just staring at his hands in something like shock, as if not quite able to believe what his hands had been capable of doing.

"Come Sev," James said softly, grasping the other young man by the shoulders and urging him to stand.

Severus moved like James had him under some controlling curse, across the room and up the stairs, but resisted when they neared the bedrooms. He started shaking again, and James looked in his eyes, seeing none of the darkness from before, but guilt and pain.

"I hurt you," Severus said in a brittle voice and James was afraid that he was near breaking point. "I raped you."

James roughly turned him so they were staring in each other's eyes, "No you did not. Listen to me Sev, it was not rape. I was entirely willing. Believe it or not I've had rougher." James gave a wry grin and Severus's eyes widened. James stepped closer and cupped one cheek with his hand, "I enjoy that now and then Sev, if you're interested. I just prefer that you're actually there with me."

"I'm sorry," Severus leaned his head into the hand on his cheek.

"Don't be," James whispered, "not for the sex... for your attitude during it maybe, but never for sex itself."

"I don't deserve you."

"I often think that I don't deserve you and Lily."

James led a more compliant Severus into the bedroom then and he flicked his wand in the direction of the bathroom, starting the taps to fill the tub with water. He slowly undressed himself, careful not to make his movements sexual. Once naked, James took the blanket from Severus and brought him into the bathroom. Severus stepped into the steaming water, and James settled in behind him.

With a washcloth James scrubbed every inch of Severus's skin, and he felt the shaking again, and the tears. He whispered comfort in Severus's ears and held him when he was overcome. James washed Sev's hair and poured water over his head to rinse it. He felt his own aches being eased away by the warm water and the calming solution in the bubble bath.

The water started to cool, and James decided against using charms to keep it warm. The sun was rising, and they both needed to get some sleep. They dried each other off with towels and Severus, becoming more animated despite the fatigue both were feeling, summoned his own wand and changed the bed linens, eliminating the physical reminders of the night before.

Together they climbed between the fresh, crisp sheets and curled up. The curtains were charmed shut and just a sliver of light came through, casting a narrow line across the floor. James could just see the detail of Severus's features, his long hair, no longer greasy since he perfected his combination of shampoo and conditioners in sixth year. His eyes were so dark, so striking. His nose was long, and the Marauders had often teased because of it, but it suited his face well. His lips were thin and often pressed in a straight line, but had the ability to curl in a sneer or a teasing smile.

"What are you doing?" Severus asked, turning from his side to his back and looking up at James.

James kissed him softly, briefly, "Just looking at you." Another kiss. "I don't say it often enough Sev. I love you."

Severus's eyes shut tight then, tight enough that little lines appeared at the sides, and James saw a tear escape from one corner. He wiped it away and the eyes opened again, bright and soft.

"You shouldn't," Severus choked out, "but I am glad you do. I love you too."

James lowered himself to pillow his head on Severus's shoulder, his arms wrapped protectively and possessively around the pale torso. They were silent for several minutes, and James hoped that Severus had managed to fall asleep.

"There's a spy," Severus's voice startled James out of his thoughts.

James lifted his head, "What?"

"A spy," was repeated, "in your Order. I've overheard things, things that they shouldn't be able to know, like who some of the members are."

His chest felt like a giant hand had reached in again and was squeezing his heart. Someone he knew, someone he was friends with, had betrayed them.

"Who?" James croaked.

"I don't know," Severus looked disturbed by that. "I don't think anyone does outside of the Dark Lord, and whoever recruited your traitor."

He sat up quickly, his mind racing, "I have to tell Albus. You know that Sev."

There was a hesitant nod, and Severus had a resigned look in his eyes, "I knew before I told you."

It struck James then. Just as there was a spy in the Order, a traitor to the light, Severus with three simple words became a traitor to the Dark Lord. The thought sent a shiver down James's spine. The fate of a traitor on either side was not pleasant, and he would have to find some way to protect Severus from suffering it.

"Severus... I can't..." the easiest way to save him of course, would be to give him some information to pass along, something to make You-Know-Who happy with him, but James couldn't do it.

"I never expected you to," Severus shook his head. "You were right James, all those times we argued you were right. I never should have joined them. I should have run, hid, something, anything."

"It's too late for that now," James said in a half-whisper. His brain was racing now, designing and discarding a variety of solutions to the dilemma. "Aurors can make Portkeys legally, for whatever purpose they deem necessary."

He stood and walked over to a wardrobe, pulling a box down from the top shelf and rifling through it. He came out with a necklace that had a very small charm on it, a snake. It had been sitting in that wardrobe for so many years, and James suspected that somewhere back when no one could remember a Potter had been in Slytherin. He pointed his wand at the charm, _Portus!_

"This will bring you here if you're in trouble," James clasped the necklace around Severus's neck and kissed him again. "The trigger word is 'Prongs'."

Severus snorted, but fingered the charm, resting on his breastbone, "It's beautiful. We'll need to disguise it."

James had already begun writing a message on the parchment that sat on the desk in the room, "Two steps ahead of you. Zeus!"

His owl flew into the room and James tied the message to his leg, "Take this to Lily, and don't let anyone else take it from you."

The weekend was like no other they had spent together. Suddenly, with the breakdown Severus had and his offer of information, they were more open with each other than ever before. The two men hadn't talked like that since they were in Hogwarts and James found he had missed Severus's wit. There had been too many secrets, too much tension, too much distance. The relationship had become almost entirely physical.

While they did spend a good amount of time in bed, and various other places in the cottage, they also played chess, and cards, and just talked. Severus even made an effort to teach James how to cook, and was somewhat successful. He at least managed to get him to stop burning toast.

The most difficult part of the weekend was the cleaning and mending of the Death Eater robes and mask. James insisted on doing it, and Severus let him, but he was the one to fold them and tuck them away out of sight in the wardrobe he used when he stayed at the cottage.

The door opened while they were eating dinner the next night, and the gust of cold air nearly extinguished the candles.

"What was so important James?" Lily asked as she unwound her scarf and hung up her cloak in the entrance. "I had to make up an excuse for Bea and I'm sure she didn't buy it." She came into the kitchen and kissed both their cheeks before sitting down at the place they had set for her if she got there in time to eat. She began putting food on her plate, then stopped and stared at Severus, hard, "Sev you look amazing. What is going on here?"

Both of them looked a bit startled, and James wondered what it was Lily saw that he hadn't seen.

"We need your help with something Lil," James smiled softly at her, and she smiled back. "I think we also need to go home early. We have to talk to Albus."

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	57. 56: Losing the War

**Chapter Fifty-Six: Losing the War**

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They rarely had time alone, and this weekend was no exception. Clive Potter had shut up the house he normally lived in, one of the many Potter properties, and moved into Potter Manor where the wards were the strongest and he could be of the most use. It was becoming common for the old families to all converge on their ancestral home. There was safety in numbers.

Viviane Potter watched her husband and his brother act like children, a small part of her glad that despite the terrible things they constantly witnessed they were still able to.

"Give it back!" Aaron chased Clive down the spiral stairs past the room Viviane was working in.

Clive had Aaron's wand, (Viviane did not want to know how he had gotten it), and was holding it up high, teasingly waving it around. "Catch me if you can!"

The two grown men laughed and yelled, thundering around the house like they had when they were teenagers or younger. Their playful sibling teasing and fighting had never stopped and Viviane did not think it ever would.

Carefully she composed a letter to the _Daily Prophet_. She was responding to several articles that had been printed recently, as she frequently did, correcting errors and giving her opinion. Viviane was a force to be reckoned with in political and social circles. Her opinion was respected, her favor sought. Mothers consulted her regarding the education of their daughters. She had arranged more marriages than she could count – one reason she had not arranged one for James – and healed rifts between families.

Viviane was one of the most successful recruiters for the Order. With her husband, brother-in-law, and son all working as Aurors there was no doubt where her loyalty lay. Her own ancestry was pure-blooded, though not very affluent. As a girl she knew that her family was dying out. They were the last of the ancient clan of O'Rourke. Despite their near poverty, they had been proud, and her mother had raised her as an aristocrat while her father and brother hunted to put food on the table. Her older brother, Liam O'Rourke, the sixth of that name, had been killed on one of those hunts, and it had fallen to Viviane to restore the line.

Her marriage to Aaron was more than her parents could have hoped for. She had been a Ravenclaw at Hogwarts, though the hat had considered both Gryffindor and Slytherin for her, and she had caught the eye of the Gryffindor Head Boy four years ahead of her. They were married the day after she left Hogwarts and James was born a year later. Her parents died not long after, targeted by dark wizards who were not yet Death Eaters.

Gentle brown eyes narrowed and her grip on her quill tightened. Viviane shook herself out of it though and returned to her letter. It was her final draft, two others coming before it but not quite conveying the appropriate tone, the correct words. It was her job in the Order not only to recruit, but to use her considerable influence to keep the public from falling into despair, from seeing Voldemort as the only way out, from giving up.

They were losing the war.

It was not a well known fact outside of the upper echelons of the Ministry and the Inner Circle of the Order, which her son was thankfully not a member of yet. If the public discovered how frighteningly outnumbered they were, just how many Aurors, Hit Wizards, Obliviators, and Unspeakables were dying on a regular basis, how the Ministry was deeply infiltrated, they would certainly insist on surrender. Their world would die, and Viviane was determined not to let that happen.

The thundering feet came closer and invaded her study. Viviane rarely interfered with the antics of her husband and brother-in-law, even when James and Sirius joined in, but the two of them were supposed to be on duty that night and they were going to wear themselves out. Neither of them was fifteen any longer, but they didn't seem to realize that.

_Expelliarmus!_

Both wands Clive had shot of his hands and into the hand Viviane held out. She glared, and they both shuffled their feet and looked down like school boys being punished. Then Aaron tilted his head up and looked at from under lowered lashes, a little grin on his face.

Every time, Viviane swore to herself. That look got her every single time.

"Take your wands and _try_ to act your age for at least a few hours, would you?" Viviane's reprimand had no sting in it whatsoever. Aaron stepped forward to take his wand and dipped her for a kiss, during which Clive calmly took his wand from her grasp.

Aaron brought her back to stand upright but left his arm around her waist, "We can go act our age in another room?"

Clive snickered, "Oh yeah? And how would you do that? I hear that tossing the quaffle short of the hoop gets to be a problem at your age."

"You are only five years younger than me, _brother dearest_," Aaron glared at his brother while Viviane rolled her eyes. "And I'll have you know, my aim has never been better."

There was more snickering as Clive left the room, and Aaron spelled the door shut. He kissed Viviane again and she closed her eyes, reflecting that Aaron's delusion that he still had the stamina of a fifteen year old _did_ have some benefits.

Dinner was uneventful, for once. It may have helped that James and Lily were away at one of the various hidden Potter properties, James refused to tell them which one, for the weekend, and as a result Sirius and Peter wouldn't be showing up either. At least at mealtimes Viviane could maintain some semblance of control over Aaron and Clive.

"I'll see you at breakfast," Aaron held Viviane close and kissed her again. Never had the passion in their marriage faded, and every day she thanked whatever forces ruled the universe that they had found each other. "Love you."

"I love you too," Viviane returned the kiss. She stepped back so Aaron could apparate out of the Manor, and a confused expression came over his face.

"Oh no," Clive was not far away, also looking confused.

Viviane instantly dove for the Floo powder and threw it in the fire, "_Albus Dumbledore!_" She aimed her wand and shot a message through the Floo system, just before the green flames flickered and died out, praying that the message made it before the system had been blocked.

All three of them ran upstairs and each took a window at a different side of the house. Viviane was grasping her wand tightly. She was an accomplished dueler, but an Auror she was not. She did not go into battle with the Order unless they were desperate, and then she stayed to the back and guarded prisoners. Outside on the lawn of the Manor she saw black shapes that could only be one thing. One head tilted up and she saw the white death mask that struck terror in the heart of any witch or wizard who found themselves facing it. She did a quick count and returned to the great room.

"Ten to the east," Viviane reported.

"I have twelve," Clive said, all mirth gone from his hazel eyes, "on the south side."

Aaron nodded, "A total of forty-five then." He licked his lips nervously. "Tap into the wards Viv and see what you can do."

Viviane nodded and obeyed, knowing her husband was more than suited to command the defense of their home. The question none of them posed, which would have to wait until this was over, was how the Death Eaters made it as far as they did without the wards alerting them, how they even located Potter manor to begin with. The Manor was Unplottable and had an almost ridiculous number or wards and charms disguising its presence.

She sat down in a chair and closed her eyes, concentrating deeply, trying to link herself to the wards. After a moment she found it, and found that someone else had managed to alter the wards, which meant that someone they knew was among the Death Eaters, had betrayed them, or was being forced. If You-Know-Who got hold of a close friend, he could find a link to Potter Manor and access the wards himself.

"Several of the wards are down, and apparition and Floo has been blocked. Portkeys in are possible, but not out," Viviane told Aaron and Clive slowly, trying not to let her fear get into her voice. Aaron brushed back her hair and kissed her forehead.

"Let's just hope that message got off the Order," Aaron told her. "Clive?"

Clive nodded and pulled out his pocket two-way mirror, "Alastor Moody."

He walked off to converse with the Auror and inform him of their situation while Viviane felt a disturbance around her. She was still somewhat connected to the wards, and the Death Eaters had to be fighting against the stronger protection spells. They would have a time getting through them to the Manor.

"We should have a house full of Aurors by the time they get through," Aaron whispered to her. "They can Portkey in, and if Albus doesn't know yet Alastor will tell him, or send someone to Hogwarts."

Viviane nodded and her eyes darted around the room. There were a few things in the room that she would not let Death Eaters destroy, and it was quite possible they would get this far. She banished some mementoes of James's childhood and the wedding pictures to her bedroom and Aaron smiled at her. He looked confident and she smiled back.

"Problem," Clive was tucking his mirror away. "This isn't the only attack. There are Death Eaters at the Fenwick Estate and Marlene McKinnon is missing. She was taken from Diagon Alley, and I hear she fought back pretty viciously. Alastor is sending what he can, but we'll still be outnumbered."

"At least James isn't here," Viviane told herself quietly. She swallowed deeply and felt tears springing to her eyes. Aaron looked at her and nodded, their eyes conveying every emotion that was brewing at that time.

A series of soft thuds signaled the arrival of Aurors and Order members by Portkey. Viviane was shocked to see that there were trainees with them. The Aurors had to be truly desperate. Sirius ran up to them and hugged Viviane tightly. She was bolstered by his strength.

"Where's James?" Sirius questioned them.

"Away with Lily," Viviane answered to one of her adoptive sons, "thank Merlin."

Sirius nodded. He looked more responsible than Viviane had ever seen him, childish joy and mischief flaking away to reveal a man underneath. Too many of the Aurors now standing in her house were young, so very young. They were children still in her mind taking on the mantle of adulthood to fight a war that needed them.

For a brief moment Viviane though that her world did not deserve to survive if they were making children fight.

Another shake ripped through her from the wards. One of their major wards had fallen, "The dark magic ward is down."

Aaron waved his wand and the lights went out. Viviane blinked to clear the spots that lingered in her vision. She saw her husband standing at a window, "They're fifty meters away now." He looked around. "Form groups of three and cover each other. We're outnumbered, so don't worry about holding anything back. Kill if you have to. They will."

The Auror Aaron Potter was a man she rarely saw. Sirius stepped up next to her and looked over to Aaron. The two of them exchanged glances and Aaron nodded, pride in his eyes. Sirius put a hand on her arm, "Stay behind me Viviane. I won't let them take you."

She kissed his cheek, "I'm proud of you Sirius."

Tears welled up in his eyes and he blinked them away. His next words were whispered, "Thanks Mum." It would have been embarrassing for him if anyone had heard, or the situation was less dire. Some of these people in her house were going to die that night.

Aaron's eyes were blazing with anger and power as he stood by the main doors to the Manor, "No darkness shall enter this home while I still live."

A blue glow surrounded him and he raised his arm. With a great swish, it came down and the glow shot out and was absorbed by the very stones of Potter Manor. It was powerful, ancient magic, the kind that did not require specific wording or wand movements, only power and deep emotion.

The doors sprang open and Aaron led the group of Aurors and Order members onto the front lawn of Potter Manor. His first curses brought down three Death Eaters, and a battle began.

Sirius was as good as his word. He fought like a battle wizened Auror, keeping his body between Viviane and harm at all times... but it wasn't good enough. They were vastly outnumbered and the Death Eaters were out for blood that night. One by one the protectors of Potter Manor were falling. Viviane was shooting her own stunning and binding curses past Sirius, but it seemed that for every Death Eater she took down two appeared to fight in his place.

A bright jet of light pierced the shield that Sirius had covering Viviane more than himself and he fell. She knelt to make sure he was still alive, her heart in her throat. He was too young to die, like so many of the others. She felt a pulse though, and that was all she needed. She stood and found herself face to face with a white mask.

"Coward," Viviane cursed at the masked wizard. She spat in his face and cursed him, but he dodged, and his next curse hit her.

The battle faded away. Viviane was floating, at peace. Her tears dried and she wondered why she had even been worried to begin with. There was nothing wrong with the world. It was a rather nice place.

_Stun your friends._

And why shouldn't she? If they were stunned, they weren't dead, and that was all that mattered really. So Viviane lifted her wand and began stunning those around her, Auror and Order member alike. They turned astonished faces to her, asking her why, and she just smiled softly.

"Viviane _NO_! Fight it!" Aaron's voice cut through the haze and she blinked.

_Kill your husband_.

No... no, she didn't want to do that. But that voice was telling her to, and it seemed so hard to resist. Her head started to ache and she backed down. It hurt to fight it.

_Kill your husband_.

Viviane fell to her knees and she vaguely saw Aaron running towards her, felling every Death Eater in his path. Then three of them blocked him and engaged him in a furious battle. Peace returned and Viviane floated.

Her wand was still stunning her friends, and she saw that some of them were hit with curses after she knocked them unconscious. She began to fight against the voice again, and her head split open, the pain unbearable. A scream echoed across the grounds and she dimly recognized it as her own voice.

"Mum!" that voice... it was James. James was there!

_Viviane Potter, kill James Potter!_

"Nooooo!" Viviane screamed.

_Avada Kedavra!_

The light hit its target, and Viviane slumped. Arms caught her, and she looked up into the flashing hazel eyes of her son. Lily was next to him, her wand holding a magnificent shield around the three of them. Every curse that came their way was absorbed into it, and Lily staggered a few times.

James helped Viviane to her feet and she held her head with one hand, "Mum, are you okay?"

"Imperious," Viviane whispered, seeing her son's face turn white. He gripped his wand.

"Then it's good I killed him," James said harshly. Her eyes widened. It had been James that cast that killing curse. Her son had killed. She knew he was an Auror, knew he had permission to use the Unforgivable Curses, but somehow never thought it would happen. "Go with Lily Mum. Go back inside."

"I don't think so," a mocking voice stopped them. A hooded wizard cast a curse that shredded Lily's shield. The fiancé of Viviane's son cried out and fell, the backlash of her shield knocking her back. Viviane saw bright light, and her son's face, and no more.

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	58. 57: The First Defiance

**Chapter Fifty-Seven: The First Defiance**

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James knew his mother was dead. He had heard the words, and there had been no time to react before she fell. Anger rose in him, anger like he had never felt before in his life. His father was fighting three Death Eaters at once, and James could see he was slowly weakening. Aaron Potter had to know his wife had fallen. They had been bonded in one of the ancient ceremonies that linked their magic, so he must have felt her death.

A look to his side told James his father was fighting with a wild abandon, more fiercely than he had ever fought before. There was blood streaming down his face, but he wouldn't stop until he was dead, or those facing him were.

On his other side, maybe seventy meters away, Uncle Clive was partnered with another Auror holding their own against four Death Eaters.

But Viviane Potter was no more. She was only a crumpled heap at James feet, Lily lying next to the woman who should be her mother-in-law, her chest barely rising and falling as she breathed.

James gripped his wand tightly and glared like he had never glared before as his mother's murderer just watched him. The hood of his cloak was large, so much so that the face was shadowed and James could not even see if there was a mask or not.

"You fucking bastard," James snarled. He stepped back to dueling range, "I am going to kill you." He fired off a killing curse, and to his shock, the wizard conjured up a shield and the curse hit it with a long resonating 'gong' and careened off to strike a wizard that, thankfully, wore a Death Eater mask.

There was a laugh, "Only half your statement was accurate, James Potter. I am quite enjoying your pain."

The voice itself sent shivers down his spine. James pointed his wand down and revived Lily. If he was right, he needed her just then. He then sent a barrage of curses to the hooded wizard, who skillfully, and casually, deflected every one of them. James had to be careful. Any curse that could cause great harm was sent off into the battling wizards and witches on the grounds of his home, and there was no telling if it would strike friend or foe.

"Viviane," Lily gasped, her own hold on her wand tightening. She choked back a sob and stood firmly next to James. Her own wand came up and together they were hurtling curses at this wizard as quickly as their wands could direct them.

"Show your face, you murdering coward," James yelled, trying to hold back his tears. It had been an emotional weekend, and now his mother had died with him standing right there, unable to help her. Severus had been summoned again right before they all left, and James prayed that his lover was not here, attacking his home.

"With pleasure," the voice returned and the hood was dropped.

It wasn't human. There was no way this wizard was human, and no question of who he was. Something in James suddenly knew what Remus had meant when he yelled at them that he was not human, only they couldn't see. This wizard... James could see... and he knew Remus was wrong. Human was not an anatomical designation. It was a moral one... a name given not by right of birth, but by strength of character and fiber. The man before them with red eyes and two slits where a nose should be was not a human by any stretch of the imagination.

James and Lily continued to throw curse after curse and he began to get the idea that they were being toyed with. What was it Dumbledore said? Fear of the name increases fear of the thing itself.

"Voldemort," James hissed. He felt fire burning inside him, purpose. "I vow here and now that you will regret the day you made enemies of the family Potter."

Laughter, sick, twisted laughter was all that answered him.

Then a curse came out of nowhere, and James saw that there were new Aurors and Order members arriving on the scene. He spotted Remus, kneeling down and lifting Sirius, bearing him back to the Manor. The curse actually struck Voldemort and sent him back several paces.

The mocking snake-like face transformed into an evil sneer and the head whipped to see where that curse had come from.

"You will not exterminate another family today Tom."

Relief flooded his limbs. It was Albus. The ultimate aid against Voldemort had arrived.

Voldemort snarled, "Do not call me that old man! Tom is dead!" _Avada Kedavra!_

The curse was aimed at James, but he dodged, pulling Lily to the ground with him. They both sprang to their feet and continued to throw curses, helping to distract Voldemort while he battled with Dumbledore. If he wasn't engaged in the fight himself James would have watched in awe. He had never seen anyone duel like these two wizards did.

Facing Dumbledore, with James and Lily also providing distraction, proved too much for Voldemort and he sent the Dark Mark into the sky. It must have been a signal to retreat, because James felt a shiver as the wards changed just before the 'crack' sound of apparition echoed all over the grounds.

"James, Lily," Albus walked over to them and took them in his arms. James felt the tears come then. Lily had an arm around him as well, and James accepted the comfort from them both.

"James? Prongs?" Remus's voice sounded almost frantic, and James felt Albus step away, leaving James and Lily to hold each other.

"Here Remus," Albus said in a firm voice, though the sadness that rang in it was painful to hear.

Remus ran over to them and he inspected them both carefully, "You're alright, you're alright." It almost sounded like he was assuring himself more than anyone else.

"My mother...," James couldn't finish the sentence. His knees gave way and strong arms caught him.

"I'm sorry James," Remus supported his weight. Lily stayed behind James, holding his hand, tears falling down her face as well. "Aaron and Clive are also gone."

Rage had taken him when he saw his mother fall. At this news he thought the world had suddenly gone off-kilter. His head felt too light and his vision blurred. James was falling, but his legs were scooped up. He could hear Lily crying, but it was distant, even though she was right there. The cold that he hadn't felt before in his determination to protect his family and his home seeped into his body and he began to shiver.

"He's in shock. Take him inside Remus."

"Albus," that was Lily. "We need to talk to you soon. It's urgent."

"In the morning Lily," Albus responded. "James will not be able to tonight."

There was softness under him and around him. Voices were all around, and arms covered him, many arms. It felt right, like things were supposed to be this way. Something hard pressed against his lips.

"Drink Prongs."

He obeyed the command and his head swam. Everything tilted and the voices faded.

When James woke again he thought for a moment that he was at Hogwarts, that school was in session and he was still a student. He wished with all his being that it was so, because then his parents and uncle would still be alive. The reason he thought he was at Hogwarts became quickly apparent.

He was not the only person in his bed, and Lily was not his only companion. Remus, Sirius, and Peter were there as well. Peter and Sirius were sleeping still, but they were the only ones. James's head was in Remus's lap, and Lily was brushing her fingers through his hair while she and Remus were looking at some parchment and discussing whatever it was softly.

Remus stopped their conversation abruptly, "Do you remember last night?"

It was directed at him, James knew. Remus's uncanny senses let him know when anyone around him was sleeping or awake, and must have known the instant James woke.

James nodded. He felt numb, even as Lily slid down to press up behind him and Remus took over smoothing back James's hair. Remus spoke in his normal, soft tones and Sirius and Peter slept on, "You'll never be alone James. The pack will always be here when you need us."

"Lil's not pack," James looked up at Remus in confusion, seeing that Lily was looking curious as well.

"Of course she is," Remus smiled as though he was correcting James and Lily on homework or something, "she's your wife."

"We're not married yet," Lily pointed out.

Remus shook his head, "Yes you are. You just haven't had the ceremony."

In the following days James realized that Remus was right. Lily had moved into the Manor despite her parents' arguments. In every way that mattered in everyday life James and Lily were already married. They only lacked the ceremony that made it official in the eyes of the wizarding world.

Without Lily and Remus, and Sirius and Peter, James did not think he would have survived that month. Christmas was the worst, especially as James discovered the hidden stash of gifts that his parents and uncle had bought for all of the Marauders.

He couldn't get away to see Sev at all, and wouldn't be able to for a long time. James felt the separation tearing at him. Even if Remus didn't know it, it seemed that Severus was already pack as well, and James needed him. He did receive one short note, the handwriting the only thing that identified the sender, as there was no signature, and even that was disguised.

_I was not there and did not hear until after. I am so sorry._

James and Lily met privately with Albus the morning after the attack and told him about the spy in the Order, their information backed up by the three attacks that had managed to eliminate roughly half of the Order's Inner Circle, including Benji Fenwick. It was then that James and Lily were elevated to that level. They found, not very shockingly at that stage, that Remus was already Inner Circle and had been for some time.

There were too many memorials to attend that winter holiday. Aurors and Order members were dying all too frequently, and it soon became impractical to hold memorial services for each individual that was killed. Rather, there was a moment of silence and remembrance at each Order meeting, and the lists of the deceased were read off.

It became apparent as the next school year came to an end, James and Sirius became official aurors, and the wedding drew close, that the spy was either not in the Inner Circle or was extremely tricky. Only information available to the general Order was leaked. Albus privately questioned each Inner Circle member, something he did not have the time nor the supply of truth serum to do with the entire Order, and proved that none of them was the spy.

Severus and James were both growing steadily busier, but they still managed to spend little bits of time together here and there. James hated seeing Severus in public, especially when Sirius was with him. Sirius was just as upset as James was that the elder Potters were all killed. They had ignored Sirius's last name and treated him like another son.

James discovered that his mother had been paying a sizable portion of Sirius's rent, unknown to Sirius of course, and made sure to continue the practice. Lily did her best to step into Viviane's place and keep her contacts among the rich and powerful. Her success made James more proud than he could have imagined.

Lily was like a force of nature all on her own. Despite the clear disdain of her heritage she took on the role that Viviane had left vacant. It was clear that the two of them had done more than just talk together, as nearly every one of his mother's associates already knew Lily and welcomed her with open arms as the next Potter matriarch.

That June saw the change that James suspected could mean the difference between victory and defeat for the side of light.

One benefit to having Potter Manor all to themselves, was that Severus could visit with no fear of exposing their relationship. He was keyed into the Manor's wards, which were drastically altered after the attack, and was only one of seven people to have that privilege. The others, of course, were Lily, the Marauders, and Albus. James, Lily, Remus, and Albus worked together to repair the broken wards and erect the new ones, some of them designed by Remus and Albus specifically for the Manor.

Severus made it a habit of apparating to Potter Manor after Death Eater meetings, raids, and arguments with his uncle. Lily kept a supply of pain potions brewed and ready as Severus's visits grew more frequent.

James worried about him almost constantly. It was obvious that as Severus distanced himself from the darkness he was punished by the Dark Lord more often. He had a habit of dismissing his exposure to the Cruciatus Curse with a small wave of his hand, which was usually shaking with the after-effects in those moments.

Just after Hogwarts let out that year, only two weeks before the wedding, three weeks before the private binding, Severus arrived at Potter Manor shaking and bleeding.

It was then that James and Lily finally convinced him to turn to Dumbledore, and the Order gained their only spy in the Inner Circle of the Death Eaters, for Dumbledore's plan resulted in Severus being elevated to that position at the same time he became a spy.

Severus seemed both lighter and more determined. The shadows that had lurked in his eyes were fading, a shine of purpose taking their place. Darkness still threatened, but it was tempered by the mission Severus now had for the light.

The best part, as far as James was privately concerned, was that Albus expected to see Severus at Potter Manor occasionally, as he was filled in on the mission that Severus had been assigned by Voldemort, the recruitment of James Potter. Needless to say, it was one mission that Severus would certainly fail at.

"I finished it," Severus announced smugly as he arrived one day, just four days before the wedding.

Lily and James both looked up at him curiously. James looked at Lily and she shrugged. He turned to Severus, "That's wonderful Sev, but what is 'it'?"

Severus rolled his eyes and sat down on a couch. "You told me once James, that you wanted your children to be all of ours." He gestured to Lily, James, and himself. James nodded and felt anticipation surge. Lily looked equally excited. "I have determined how to alter a potion normally used for two men to give their genetics to a child which a surrogate mother carries, though the child does not have her genetic input."

He produced a vial that was a clear, glowing pastel purple. That alone would normally make James laugh, as pastel purple was one of the last colors he expected Severus to proudly display.

Lily was grinning, "That's it?"

"Nearly," Severus cleared his throat and two spots of color danced on his cheeks. "It's missing two ingredients."

"Why...," James almost hit himself for not picking up on it immediately. He recovered quickly though and waggled his eyebrows. "I never knew making a potion could be so fun."

Lily smacked his arm, "It's not just making a potion James Aaron Potter. This is about making a child, a child with three parents to love him."

He was truly in awe of her. James continued to be amazed that he had managed to convince her to spend the rest of her life with him. He kissed Lily deeply, passionately, then saw Severus smirking, still holding the potion, and kissed him next. He would never get enough of either of them.

"Hold onto this," Severus handed the vial to Lily. "It would not do for me to be found in possession of such a potion. Those questions I would not be able to answer."

Lily kissed Severus softly, just a brush of the lips, and James knew he had never been happier. "Thank you Severus."

He nodded and stood, "I have to get back. Albus wants me to meet with Ayre and discuss curriculum before she leaves."

Lily reverently placed the sealed vial in a decorative box, cushioned with satin, and she pulled at James's robes, "I am getting rather anxious to meet this child."

James grinned, and cast the contraceptive spell on her, "The potion isn't done quiet yet."

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	59. 58: Bonding

**Chapter Fifty-Eight: Bonding**

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Remus apparated to Sirius's flat as requested the night before James and Lily's wedding. Also as requested he was wearing muggle clothing, though that was not really all that unusual for him. The Flamels had a strange mixture of muggle and wizarding in their clothing and were entirely unconcerned with Remus's choice of attire.

He had been shocked that Aaron and Viviane had left a substantial sum to Remus in their will, and to Sirius as well. Remus had a brief twinge of guilt, wondering if Peter had felt left out. While he had inherited a few apparently meaningful items he was not one of the Potters' 'adopted sons'. Peter still had his parents, and was their heir, even if they weren't nearly as wealthy as the Potters.

"Remus!" Sirius wrapped him a bear hug, and Remus lifted an eyebrow at his friend.

Something had changed in Sirius after Aaron, Viviane, and Clive were killed. There was the charmed motorcycle, which actually flew. (No matter how many times he cajoled, Sirius would never get Remus to ride that thing, especially in the air.) He had cut his hair short, which was not the traditional style worn by adult wizards. Sirius was also starting to resemble the James of many years ago, in his relationships anyway. He was in his 'muggle phase' as he called it, and had a new muggle girl up to his flat every weekend.

It was Sirius's clothing that drew the raised eyebrow that night. He was wearing tight dark blue jeans, black dragonhide boots, a tight white shirt, and a black dragonhide jacket. It provided an interesting contrast to Remus's pressed black slacks and button-down short sleeved linen shirt, pale yellow. Oddly enough, his boots were nearly identical to those on Sirius's feet.

"What are we doing here Black?" one of the Aurors Remus didn't know asked.

Sirius grinned, "Well, now that Remus is here we're ready. Last week I was introduced to a very intriguing muggle custom, the bachelor party."

"And that is?" Remus blinked a few times. Alastor Moody was actually there. He inched towards the Auror, hopefully escaping Sirius's exuberant gestures.

"Simple," Sirius was beaming. "We all descend on Potter Manor, kidnap James, and get him completely wasted to enjoy his last night as a single man."

The idea was generally well received, and the reason for the muggle clothes now known. Sirius intended to take this large group of wizards into muggle London for this experience. He shook his head. The last time Sirius and James had dragged Remus to a pub the two of them, Peter had been busy with his latest girlfriend that his friends still hadn't met, had been too intoxicated to stand, let alone apparate or cast any spells. He had confiscated their wands earlier in the evening and had to Floo them both home. That had been a messy experience, not to mention highly smelly.

Lily was not at all surprised by their arrival, though James was. Being muggle-born herself, Lily was acquainted with the concept and just called after them as they left the Manor, "Make sure he's sober by tomorrow morning or I'll skin every last one of you!"

Several of them flinched, taking the warning seriously. They passed Alice, Von, and Bea on their way out of the area covered by the Manor's wards. The girls laughed and waved to them, Alice getting a kiss from her husband that prompted whistles and catcalls, and then went into the Manor to keep Lily company for the night.

Lily's family was already there, even if her sister had almost literally been dragged there kicking and screaming. Remus knew that Petunia and her husband Vernon had only come because Lily's mother had cried when Petunia refused.

Remus stopped Sirius once they were out of the wards and held his hand out. Peter immediately started laughing. James and Sirius grumbled, but passed over their wands.

"Idiots!" Moody exclaimed. "Never be without your wand!"

"Unless you want to Obliviate half of muggle London I assure you this is quite necessary," Remus grinned at Alastor, who shook his head and continued mumbling under his breath. Sirius and James were the subject of many jokes about not being able to control their wands after that.

"We'll get you for that Remy," Sirius said in a threatening tone.

Remus patted him on the head, "Sure you will... but you'll need to get your wand back first."

"Everyone meet at the Leaky Cauldron!" Sirius called out.

The appearance of twenty wizards in the pub, all of them talking loudly, did not faze the patrons in the least. They were, however, a little startled that those wizards all wore muggle clothes and were going out to muggle London. Only the fact that several of them were easily recognizable as high-profile Aurors stopped the bartender from calling the Ministry and reporting a possible problem.

Sirius led them all to what he called SoHo and into a bar, which was apparently a regular stop of his. A few of the workers there waved to him and Sirius responded in kind, then announced loudly, "My best friend is getting married tomorrow!"

The muggles there all cheered, and the wizards were taken aback by the sudden party atmosphere that developed in the bar. It was the same every place Sirius brought them to, and it was lucky he had warned them all to have muggle money.

More girls than Remus could count were hitting on James, and offering to make his last night of 'freedom' as enjoyable as possible. With long practice James was able to turn away every one of the girls, even as he steadily grew more and more inebriated.

"Come on Moony," Sirius threw an arm around him, "another toast!"

How Sirius had managed to bring them all to a strip club Remus would never know. There was also the little matter that none of them, or very few of them anyway, had muggle identification. Sirius charmed their way past any check points though, assuring the muggles that every one of them was of age.

Remus lifted up a shot glass. He had lost track of the number of drinks he consumed, and was willing to bet that he and Alastor were the only two sober wizards there, "To James! Here's hoping Lily manages to cure the headache you are sure to have tomorrow!"

It probably wouldn't have mattered what he said. Everyone would have cheered, yelled, 'To James!', and downed their shots.

"Your constitution is simply amazing," Alastor sat down next to Remus, though he was keeping a watchful eye on the doors and windows... and corners and shadows and everywhere else.

Remus laughed, "James and Sirius have been trying to out-drink me since we were all fourteen, but they always end up unconscious and drooling. I've lost track of how much we've had tonight, but they insist I match each one of their drinks, each."

"One for every one of James's..." Moody grinned.

"...and one for every one of Sirius's."

"That's a total of at least thirty shots tonight," Alastor shook his head again. He took a swig from his flask, which he assured Remus contained a non-alcoholic substance. He had come along to make sure that the group didn't become an easy target for some lucky Death Eater. Both Alastor and Remus had flasks full of sobriety potion just in case.

They were all singing and swaying drunkenly down the streets of muggle London near dawn.

Remus shot a glance at Alastor, and received a wry shake of the head in response. It was a miracle that Obliviators weren't being called in, what with the lyrics of some of the songs being belted out full volume by ten off-duty Aurors. They sang quidditch fight songs, wizarding drinking songs, and Sirius even started up a rounding rendition of 'God Rest Ye Merry Hippogriffs', one of his personal favorites.

He wondered at the custom of the bachelor party, wondered how many muggle grooms attended their own weddings with severe hangovers. If it hadn't been for the potions, James, Sirius, and Peter, along with a good portion of the male guests, would not have enjoyed the ceremony and reception nearly so much as they did.

"This has got to be a joke," Sirius said ruefully as he stood before the mirror in his apartment.

Remus walked up behind him and laughed. He, James, and Peter had all stayed with Sirius the night before, for all two or so hours of sleep they managed.

"Gold is not your color Padfoot," Remus grinned.

"It's not my fault James decided to make the robes match _your_ eyes," Sirius pouted.

Peter nervously tugged at his sleeves and straightened his own golden hued robe, "I think James just wants to embarrass us."

All three of them laughed. It would not be at all beyond James to choose the robes for his packmates solely with the aim of mocking them.

"None of us are exactly pure, are we?" Remus shook his head. He couldn't help that it was a week before the full moon and his hazel eyes were flecked with gold brought out by the color of his formal robe.

Sirius gave Remus a peculiar look, "Since when have you been defiled?"

"Dark creature, remember?"

The flush that decorated Sirius's cheeks was both amusing and to some degree touching. If he actually forgot that Remus was dark then it had either been too long since they had all run under the full moon, or Sirius had taken one too many stunners to the head.

"It's been a year you know," Sirius said quietly. Remus and Peter both looked at him in confusion. "We really need to find a forest you can transform in Moony."

Remus shook his head. There was no way it could happen. Not only did he have a commitment to the Nick Flamel as a test subject for his new potion, but he would not take the risk that he could hurt, or worse, bite some innocent person. Luckily he was saved from the conversation and potentially awkward questions by James, in much more tasteful black dress robes, barging into the room.

"I'm gonna be sick."

The Marauders leapt into action. Sirius went to James's side and eased his friend into a chair while Peter fetched a wastebasket. Remus ducked into the next room and came back with a small package, which he quickly enlarged. His friends all gave him questioning gazes.

"What's that?" Sirius was the first to ask.

"This is from Albus James," Remus separated out four separate objects and James sucked in a surprised breath. "He had them ready a few weeks ago, but decided to wait for today."

The fourth package was shaped differently than the other three. It was a long and skinny box, from which Remus pulled out three folded easels. He set them up, set up the three large rectangular packages, and unveiled them.

"Mum? Dad? Uncle Clive?" James had to wipe away a tear that escaped from the corner of one eye.

"We're proud of you James," his father's portrait told the room.

"Make Lily happy son," Viviane's voice came from her portrait and all four Marauders were bright-eyed. "We'll be in the Portrait Gallery at the Manor when you get back."

James nodded, biting his lower lip. He was at a loss for words, something which his friends would attest to being quite unusual. He first pulled Remus into a tight hug, then gestured for the others to join. Remus felt like everything was right in the world with his pack all together like it was right then. It was as if there was no war to fight, no deaths reported every morning in the paper.

"I love you guys," James said in a tightly controlled voice.

"We love you too Prongs," Remus answered for all of them.

Sirius broke the group hug first, "Okay gentlemen, let's remember our gender here."

The laughter that followed was inevitable. Remus recovered first and bowed to James, "M. Prongs, I do believe you have a bride waiting for you."

"M. Moony, I am most obliged to you for your organization and punctuality," James smiled and returned the bow. He then bowed to Sirius and Peter, "Shall we away then M. Padfoot and M. Wormtail?"

"Most assuredly M. Prongs," Sirius bowed with a flourish. He turned to Remus, "You will do the honors of escorting our honored painted guests M. Moony?"

"But of course M. Padfoot," Remus felt excitement bubbling up inside him. The four of them had not been together like this since they were in school. It always seemed that when they tried to meet at least one of them had some other commitment. He waved his wand and the portraits disappeared, sent to the grounds of the Manor, where Frank Longbottom was waiting for them.

"You ready Prongs?" Sirius put his hands on James's shoulders and looked him in the eye.

James took a deep breath and smiled, "Let's go Marauders."

The four of them left the apartment and apparated to the edge of the Manor's wards. From there they walked to the backyard where rows of chairs were set. The actual vows were being performed at the edge of the lake, under the tree that had supported the rope used to swing out over the water. The rope was still there, but wrapped around the branch and hidden by leaves and flowers for the duration of the ceremony.

Years later, if asked, Remus would only be able to tell others how the wedding felt. He remembered the bright sunlight, the large number of guests, despite the fact that many Aurors could not attend as they were on duty, and the pure happiness was almost literally pouring off of James.

Lily was beautiful in a white robe with golden embroidery. There was the scent of roses, and lilies of course. Out of all the guests there were four muggles present, looking decidedly out of place in their suits and dresses, even though Lily had offered robes for them all to wear.

Magic was heavy in the air. Albus performed the ceremony, casting the actual binding, and Remus could feel the headmaster's enormous power. There was a photographer there that delayed the wedding party and took dozens of posed shots.

Sirius and Bea stayed as far away from each other as they could all evening. It was a pity that their relationship had ended so unhappily. Remus saw that Sirius was doing his best to keep a bright smile on his face the entire time, and fighting the urge to scowl, or to go to Bea and beg her to take him back. The latter had no chance, as Bea was overheard telling the other girls about her new boyfriend that she met in Salem, an American wizard.

It was all over almost before Remus knew it, and he, Sirius, and Peter were left alone at Potter Manor while the house elves cleaned up.

"It feels weird."

"Huh?" Peter looked over to Sirius. He had finally grown, but would never be tall like the rest of the Marauders.

"I know what you mean Padfoot," Remus sighed. "Did you hear Lily talking with Alice about babies?"

Sirius started laughing almost hysterically, "Prongs a father? Oh Moony, that's just too much."

"How old were your parents when you were born?" Remus raised an eyebrow, a little smirk on his face. His mother had been twenty, and twenty was not so far away.

The wild boy among the Marauders paled, "My mother was eighteen."

Peter snickered, "You're almost overdue there Padfoot."

"Sweet Merlin no," Sirius rallied and shook his head. He lifted the golden robe over his head and dropped it on the floor. Underneath he had on leather trousers and a short sleeve button-up. "I'm going to live, really live, before I even think about reproducing."

"Good luck Siri," Remus laughed lightly.

Peter squeaked and jumped, "I almost forgot! I have to get going!"

"Meeting your girl Wormtail? Why didn't you bring her?" Sirius cuffed Peter on the head.

Peter looked down and mumbled something that not even Remus could hear.

"Speak up Petey," Sirius chided him.

"We broke up."

Sirius slung an arm over Peter's shoulders, "Petey, Petey, Petey. Are you ever going to date a girl for more than a few months?"

"This coming from someone who doesn't even go for a second date lately," Remus broke in to Peter's defense.

Peter, cheeks flush, extricated himself from Sirius and apparated away. Sirius shook his head, took a miniature motorcycle out of his pocket, enlarged it, mounted, and drove away. Remus's smile faded as he continued to stare across the open land surrounding Potter Manor. He tried to keep that warm happy feeling from earlier in the day but it was an impossible task.

Remus was not surprised to feel someone walking up behind him. It was a scent he'd know anywhere he thought.

"I just can't Albus," Remus's whisper was harsh and pained. "I can't see it of either of them, no matter what Siri did all those years ago. They're pack Albus. I'm sorry... I can't."

A hand squeezed his shoulder, "I did not think you would Remus, but I had to ask."

"It could be any of thirty or so members," Remus reminded the headmaster. "More people than we realized could get onto this property and knew all the members that have been attacked."

Albus Dumbledore's eyes were not twinkling, and his voice held no amusement, "I know Remus. It remains that both of them are on the list, and therefore are suspect."

The reality of the war they were all embroiled in came crashing down around Remus, the joy and excitement of the day washed away in its wake. He lowered his head and shook it, feeling tears form behind closed lids. Remus had been told that the Order had a spy in the Death Eaters, and that the spy had revealed that Voldemort's spy in the Order was close to the Potters, but not Dumbledore. That had significantly pared down the list of suspects.

They had tried feeding several members false information. They had tried tracking charms, revealing charms, and a dozen other discreet spells, but Voldemort outwitted them at every step of the game. His spy had to be truly amazing, highly valuable, if he was being so very careful with the information he received from the spy.

One of his friends, someone he ate with, joked with, fought alongside, had betrayed them. Such an act was incomprehensible to Remus. He really could have been a Hufflepuff, he told himself now and then. Loyalty was so strongly ingrained in his character that he could not fathom willingly giving information to the enemy that would result in the deaths of people he knew, and yet someone was doing just that.

"I don't understand Albus."

"I hope you never do."

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	60. 59: Hope

**Chapter Fifty-Nine: Hope**

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The search for the spy in the Order of the Phoenix went on, and there was little evidence found that fingered any one member. Months passed and the Order did not grow. It seemed that any time new members were inducted, old members were killed, or they left. There was a massive exodus from Great Britain, and the numbers of the American Wizarding Society grew dramatically in those years.

Attendance at Hogwarts was down. While Albus Dumbledore's power was greatly respected, it was also recognized that his power made him a target, perhaps the most significant target. Hogwarts may have been the safest place in the wizarding world, but it was certain that You-Know-Who would attack the school eventually, if only to get to Dumbledore.

Another term started, and the Marauders gathered one day in the Three Broomsticks. Rosmerta made much of them, brought them free firewhiskeys and flirted with them, kissing them all on the cheek. Sirius and James flirted back as they always had, while Peter blushed and Remus just smiled at her pleasantly.

They all tossed back their drinks, empty plates pushed towards the center of the table and Sirius shook his head like a dog just getting out of water. His animagus form really shined through sometimes.

"You will never believe what I heard," Sirius made a face of utter disgust. The other three Marauders urged him on with their expressions. Sirius took a deep breath and paused dramatically, "Dumbledore hired... as the new Potions Professor... _Snivellous_."

Peter half choked on his butterbeer and James thumped his back.

"Really?" Remus's brain was turning over this new information. He was one of maybe five or six Order members that knew about the existence of their new spy in Voldemort's Inner Circle, mostly because it was part of his job to go over the information brought in by the spy. With that one statement he had a good clue as to who the spy was. He'd never let that show though and he snorted, "Who would have thought it?"

James shook his head, "Not me. Can you imagine him in charge of _children_? With his foul mouth and dark curses? Sometimes I worry about Albus."

"He's always been a little nuts," Sirius agreed, "but _this_? He might as well put my cousin Bella, or Malfoy on the staff at Hogwarts."

The other three nodded, though Remus sensed some hesitation on James's part. Suddenly, though, James and Sirius jumped up.

"We have to run," James picked up one last roll and ate it quickly. He threw down a small pouch of Galleons and darted out the door.

"Aurors," Remus said with a little roll of his eyes, causing Peter to chuckle. "Looks like it's just you and me Wormtail."

"Actually Moony..."

"Aw, come on," Remus gave Peter a piercing look. "Don't tell me you're abandoning me too."

Peter chuckled again, somewhat nervously, "I have to be at work early tomorrow morning."

"Sadly Peter," Remus sighed and leaned back, "I wish I could say the same."

Rosmerta came over and sat down in the seat James had left. She hefted the bag of coins, and summoned a bottle of firewhiskey, pouring two shots, "This should take care of the meal, another full bottle, and the next two times the four of you come here."

"James was in a rush," Remus smiled and accepted the shot. Rosmerta was well aware that Remus had an unnaturally high tolerance.

She drank with him, and they discussed the day's report on the war. Rosmerta was one of those many Order members that did not attend meetings, and did not go with the Order to fight. Rather, she passed along information to a number of people, Remus one of them. She was uniquely placed, as the mistress of her pub, to hear all sorts of rumors and secrets. She could listen to her patrons while seeming to do any of a number of other tasks.

Remus left after having a few drinks and learning that Rosmerta had nothing new to report. He apparated to France and lingered outside Chateau Flamel briefly. He had a few days and then it would be the full moon again. The last month had been irritating, but otherwise not as painful as some of the trials. That potion had given him a wicked rash, hives covering his body from head to toe, which also covered the wolf. He suspected he spent that entire night scratching, and his skin showed it the next day. Several new scars joined his collection.

"Remy!" Ellie stepped outside, dressed in a sleek violet gown, much to Remus's surprise. "I am so glad you are here. Go inside and change quickly. You are coming with us."

"Where...?" Remus began to ask, but she was pushing him towards the open door.

"No time for that," Ellie adjusted her stole, griffin fur Remus judged by the look of it.

He submitted, knowing that Ellie would eventually get her way regardless. He saw Nick struggling with a bowtie, "You would think after over five hundred years... Remus! Help me with this blasted, miserable scrap of fabric."

Remus shook his head and pointed his wand. He twirled it in a complicated pattern and spoke a few words. The two ends of the bowtie twisted around each other and tied a perfect knot.

Nick grinned at him, "You will have to teach me that one. I am afraid bowties are a rather recent invention in my estimation."

"What are we all dressed up for?"

The blue eyes of his host lit up with what Remus decided was childish glee, "We only go once every few years. Hate the crowds, but the music..." He sighed wistfully, and Remus realized he wouldn't get a straight answer anytime soon.

He ran upstairs, found the muggle tuxedo that Viviane had tailored for him years ago, adjusted it just slightly to lengthen the arms and legs, and dressed himself. His hair wasn't long enough to tie back, but he spelled it longer and put it in a ponytail that curled at his collar.

"Remus you look lovely," Ellie stood on her toes, despite the high heels, and kissed his cheek. "Now, follow our lead, we're headed south."

He obeyed again, and soon found himself in a much warmer climate. They exited the alley they apparated into and stepped into a crowd of similarly dressed muggles. They were pouring into a building that Remus couldn't catch the name of, but Ellie handed over three small slips of stiff paper to a man in the most interesting suit, peacock blue with gold braid, it could only be a uniform.

The snatches of conversation Remus picked up were in Italian, which he only knew a few words of. Ellie chattered in French, while Nick examined every inch of the elaborate interior with wide eyes. Remus couldn't help but follow Nick's gaze. He had never seen a building like this, with gold gilding and mirrors everywhere, and more decoration than had been on James and Lily's wedding cake. It was opulence like nothing he had ever imagined. He almost didn't believe Ellie's comment that Beauxbatons resembled this.

They went up a grand staircase and down a dim hall, then through curtains into a small space with four chairs. Remus's breath caught as he passed through the red velvet. Before him were thousands of people dressed in their finest, sitting in rows of chairs and talking excitedly. They all faced a stage, with a deep red curtain hiding what was behind. There was a glittering crystal chandelier hanging above the audience.

"You can sit Remy," Ellie teased him.

Remus nodded slowly and took one of the red velvet upholstered gilt Louis XIV chairs, Nick and Ellie taking those on either side of him, "What is this?"

"_Turandot_," Ellie responded. "It is Nick's favorite."

He remembered his Chocolate Frog Cards then. Nicholas Flamel, noted alchemist and opera lover.

"Thank you," Remus breathed, feeling the magic, of the wholly muggle variety, pervade his being. "I've never even seen a play... or a film."

Each of the Flamels took one of his hands and Nick leaned over to him, "Then you have not yet lived Remy. Just watch, and listen, and let the music flow through you."

Never before had music moved Remus to tears. They poured down his face silently, unashamedly. He could not help but think that even if this war was killing friends and family, ripping apart the world he was a part of, that it had brought some good as well. For without the war he would never have been taken in by Ellie and Nick, never been part of the development of a potentially revolutionary potion, and may have never been to the opera.

When they returned to France, their trip entirely silent, Nick handed Remus a goblet filled with the next attempt at a werewolf potion. He grimaced as he swallowed, the foul taste absolutely the worst he had ever consumed. Even its lingering nastiness, which water, toothpaste, and charms did nothing to eliminate, did not break his serene mood.

All thoughts of traitors and evil wizards were far away. When Remus closed his eyes he saw elaborate costumes, beautiful scenery, and heard music that made goose bumps erupt all over his body and his breath catch.

ooOOoo

James's breath caught in his throat. It was nearly Halloween, and he had never seen Lily look as stunning as she did when he got back from his call. Death Eaters had been spotted in a little village far to the north of Hogwarts and the Aurors had responded in force. He had a few little cuts, but was otherwise fine, while Sirius was nursing a bump on his head the size of a snitch.

Lily was waiting for him when he got home in a silk... something... that James was at a loss to explain. His tongue was tied up in knots, his brain frozen, and he felt like a nine year old sneaking a glimpse of a picture of a woman in her undergarments for the first time. Words eluded him completely.

She had this smile on her face, that secret kind of smile that told James she knew precisely the effect she was having on him.

"Lily," James managed to finally speak. He stumbled forward and took her in his arms despite the dirty robes he was wearing. He kissed her, putting as much feeling into the movement of lips and tongue as he could possibly manage.

She laughed lightly when they drew apart and James started rapidly disrobing. Her hand was behind her back, and she slowly brought it forward, a vial in her fingers. James recognized it immediately as the potion Severus had brewed, which he and James had subsequently provided the final ingredients to. Never before had James so enjoyed making a potion.

"I thought we might start trying," Lily was still smiling. "It's the right time."

A smile spread over his face and James could already see in his mind Lily's abdomen swelling with their child. He nodded and she tilted the vial back, drinking the now deeper purple liquid within. If all went as Severus thought she would conceive the same month as she drank the potion. Granted that it worked... and the pregnancy went well... the three of them would be parents towards the end of July. Sev had mentioned that the potion included a fertility component to increase the probability of conception.

"You're beautiful," James whispered as he approached his wife.

His clothes were already scattered around the room and James ignored that they were in the great room of the house. He approached Lily and slowly pulled up her gown, lowering her to thick rug on the floor at the same time. It was impossible to wait. James bunched the silk around her waist and lowered himself to kiss her between her thighs, finding her already moist and ready for him.

James felt something like a growl rising in his throat. He moved up to find her lips and pressed his own against them in a desperate kiss, plundering the cavern of her mouth with his tongue. Her hands were on his back, his waist, lowering to reach her goal and she guided him into place.

Their breathing was labored, their hearts beating fast as he thrust inside her. Her legs rose up to wrap around him and her hips moved up to meet his with each downward movement. He lowered his face to suckle her breasts through the silk gown and she moaned her appreciation.

It was over far more quickly than James planned. He could usually hold out much longer, but felt no guilt as her cries of pleasure combined with his. Briefly he hoped that they weren't frightening the house elves, but then guessed that they had lived through several generations of Potters, and the creation of those successive generations. James doubted he was the only Potter to use rooms other than the bedroom for that purpose.

Lily traced patterns on the damp skin of his back after he collapsed on her. She kissed the top of his head, "Love you."

He lifted up his head to see her brilliant emerald eyes looking down at him. He loved those eyes, loved the gentle slope of her nose, the pink of her lips, her fiery hair. They kissed, slowly and deeply, and James was quickly recovering from the first quick session.

After a bit of time and a struggle with self control, they made it to the bedroom and their bed, but did not sleep for several hours.

When James woke up Lily was not in the bed. He looked over to the grand clock against the wall and saw that it was still early. James never woke this early unless he had to be at the Ministry. He stretched and yawned, his mouth half-dry, half-sticky and tasting like something mysterious that might be found under Sirius's couch. Padfoot was not a good cleaner.

Teeth brushed and clothing found, James wandered down the stairs to locate his wife. Upon not seeing her in the library, the portrait gallery, the room his mother had converted to a darkroom, the great room, or at the spot she liked outside under the shade of a chestnut oak, he began to get confused.

"Tawney!"

The house elf popped into the room and bobbed a curtsy, "How can Tawney help Master James?"

"Where is Lily?"

"Mistress Lily being working over a cauldron Master James. Mistress is in the kitchen," Tawney curtsied again and James signaled she could leave.

Wondering what Lily was brewing, James went down to the basement kitchen. He peeked in the doorway and saw that Lily had her hair pulled back and was still wearing the flannel nightgown she had eventually put on the night before.

"Boil, boil, toil and trouble...," James walked up behind her, grinning.

Lily turned and rolled her eyes at him, "If you must know, I'm brewing a pregnancy test."

He felt his eyebrows lift, his eyes widen, "Already?"

"It can tell as soon as an hour after conception," Lily blushed just slightly and smiled at him. "I couldn't sleep, not knowing."

"You know what Sev will say," James echoed her smile and pressed up behind her, hands on her hips, nuzzling her neck.

Lily chuckled, "Of course. How could any potion brewed by the great Severus Snape not work exactly as intended?"

"When will you be done?" James snuck a few pieces of the bacon that one of the elves was cooking up.

She turned and kissed him, "Now."

"Now?" James felt suddenly nervous. What if she was pregnant? He would be a father. Sev would be a father. James hoped they would, all three of them make good parents.

Lily scooped up the potion into a goblet that one of the elves handed her exactly as she reached for one. She tilted it back and drank down the potion.

"Well?" James asked her eagerly.

The look in her eyes stopped him and he felt like a schoolboy again. She must have learned that look from McGonagall. It was exactly the same as the one McGonagall always gave him when she got fed up with him fidgeting in her class.

"The potion is only the first stage," Lily instructed him. She straightened the collar of his robes and kissed him on the cheek. "I have to wait ten minutes and then perform the charm."

"Ten minutes!"

Lily laughed and kissed him again, "You have not known all night, you can wait another ten minutes."

"But I was asleep then!" James whined and pouted. "I don't want to wait."

"We can eat," Lily signaled the elves and they bustled around, setting the table in the kitchen, "and then perform the charm."

James ate his food quickly, as if by eating as fast as he possibly could, in some cases not even chewing before swallowing, he might make the ten minutes pass by sooner. Lily ate at her normal pace, and even took the time to read the headlines in the _Daily Prophet_. Finally she took pity on her fidgety husband.

Her wand aimed at her abdomen, Lily silently cast a spell which made her whole lower torso glow a brilliant blue. James held his tongue and shifted on his seat. He practically had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from talking.

Lily leaned in close and whispered in her ear, "Congratulations Daddy."

James yelped and jumped up from his chair. He pulled Lily to her feet and hugged her tightly, then let her go with a horrified look to which she responded with a laugh.

"You cannot hurt us by hugging me James," Lily caressed his face softly. "Women used to wear corsets throughout pregnancy and the human race continues to exist."

He felt ashamed of himself, but excused it that he had no experience with pregnant women whatsoever.

"Tawney," James called over the house elf. "You are to take special care of your Mistress, as she is carrying the next Potter."

Tawney's already large and bulbous eyes grew even larger and misty and she was visibly trembling, "Oh Master James! Tawney will make all ready for the Young Master!"

Fondness for the elf welled up in James. Tawney had cared for him throughout his childhood and he could think of none better to care for his child, "You have nine months Tawney, all the time in the world."

"Yes Master James," Tawney bobbed, and then the elves began swarming around Lily, urging her to sit and eat more breakfast. Lily gave James a desperate look, as if pleading for help, but he wasn't about to argue with elves.

James grinned at the scene and took the stairs two at a time to write Severus an urgent missive. The Potions Master was needed at Potter Manor.

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Please Review!

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	61. 60: Twice and Thrice Defied

**Chapter Sixty: Twice and Thrice Defied**

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James was on his knees on the thick carpet that covered the floor in Lily's study. He had his face pressed against the small bulge that was finally protruding from her stomach and was explaining the rules of quidditch to his first child.

"Now, there are over three hundred ways to commit a foul. There's bladgering...," James was speaking in as soothing a voice as he was capable of using.

Laughter, sounding like it was being desperately suppressed, reached him and the belly he was speaking to started shaking. He frowned and looked up at his wife, offended.

"James," Lily cupped his cheek with her free hand, the other one busy flipping through a book on ancient magic, "I think you can wait until the little one is old enough to ride a broom to get into that much detail."

"But you said it's important to talk to him and have him hear the sounds of our voices," James argued. "If he can hear me, then surely he can understand, and no son of mine will come into this world knowing nothing of the greatest sport ever to exist."

"He?" Lily raised her eyebrows.

James didn't know what her problem was, "You think the first born of the next generation of Potters will be a girl? Not a chance. The eldest Potter has been male for over a thousand years."

"Really?" Now she seemed interested.

"Really," James nodded confidently. "You can look at the tapestry if you don't believe me, and Sev can brew that potion that lets us know what gender the baby is."

As if speaking his name had summoned him, Severus spoke from the door, "That potion only takes about ten minutes to brew."

James jumped up and with only two steps he was at Sev's side hugging him. They shared a kiss and Severus walked over to greet Lily and the slight bulge.

"The eldest Snape is always male as well Lily," Severus told her. He squatted and touched her stomach gently, then kissed it softly, "We will know one way or the other soon."

It almost appeared that Severus thought it below his dignity to speak to a fetus, but he had no problem carrying on conversations with Lily and James while his mouth was near the developing baby. James guessed that before long he would break down and speak directly to the child.

They had told the portraits of his parents and uncle, and the rest of the family for that matter, about Severus when they informed them that the next Potter was on the way. Aaron, Viviane, and Clive had been surprised, and a little disappointed that James had not felt he could confide in them earlier. There was something about portraits that was simpler than their living counterparts, though they did carry the same basic personality. The deceased Potters had not judged Severus on his family name and Viviane had struck up a conversation about Potions with him.

An impatient James went over the reports from the night before that were delivered to him through secure Floo from the Ministry. All Aurors were responsible for keeping up to date on attacks and targets. His eagerness to discover the gender of his child, though he knew it was a boy, faded a bit as he got to the list of Aurors killed or missing.

"Caradoc is missing," James suppressed the grief that threatened as he told Lily. It was becoming all too easy to keep his personal feelings buried. There was no time anymore to mourn, to weep. Time to spend at home was rare, though with Lily and Alice pregnant the Aurors all tried to give James and Frank as much time with their wives as they could.

With the way the war was going though, nearly every Auror was called whenever there was an attack, whenever there was a sighting of five or more Death Eaters.

"Oh James," Lily came over to him and held him. Missing was just as good as dead, as no one lasted after more than a few hours when held by the Death Eaters.

Both of them noticed Severus's return, but they did not move. The spy must have seen the casualty report, for he did not ask why they were upset, or make any comment other than to tell them the potion was ready. James composed himself quickly and Lily accepted the vial, drinking it with a little smile on her face.

Severus performed the necessary charm that time and smirked, delaying the announcement until James had entirely forgotten about his trainer and was badgering the man to him the results.

"Boy," Severus told them.

James whooped and jumped, proudly declaring he knew it all along. He missed the teary smile Lily gave Severus and the mouthed, 'Thank You.' Severus just nodded in return and the three of them began their celebration.

It was not to last long. James felt a warming in his pocket and took out his mirror. There was a symbol showing there, the summoning for a large attack. He looked at Severus questioningly.

"I don't know," Severus shook his head. "I am not told much about attacks, and not asked to participate in them much. He finds me too valuable to lose to the Aurors in such a way."

He nodded. Severus had told him before, but it was possible he had overheard something. James kissed them both and threw some Floo powder in the fire, leaving for the Ministry.

Hours later James was covered in sweat, dirty from rolling on the ground to avoid curses, and shaking while a Healer attended to his numerous cuts and the severe burns over half his body from a curse he had taken in Sirius's place.

"How do I tell her Padfoot?" Even to himself James's voice sounded hollow.

"I don't know Prongs," Sirius sat next to him and took the jar of burn paste from the Healer. "Go on and take care of the others. I can apply this."

The Healer nodded and left. It was a mess, an attack on an entirely muggle neighborhood, with one minor exception. The home of Christopher and Claire Evans was at the very center of the attack. By the time the Aurors had made it there it was no more than a pile of ashes, both occupants of the house tied, gagged, and dead on the lawn. Their bodies were nearly unrecognizable, but their faces had been left unharmed and showed the extreme pain they had suffered.

"You don't have to tell me," Lily's sniffled and walked into the tent that had been set up to treat those Aurors who could still walk. Critical cases were taken to Mungo's, which would be too busy to take the others.

"What are you doing here?" James asked her, a little groggy from pain killers and still in a bit of shock from seeing his in-laws' bodies.

"I'm an Obliviator James," Lily kissed his forehead, "and I know the area. I'm needed."

"But you're..."

"There aren't enough of us James, that they can give out maternity leave this early," Lily was using her stubborn tone, the one that James was never successful arguing with.

He let his head droop and she kissed him again before leaving the tent. Sirius continued to apply the thick orange paste to his chest and arm, commenting that they were both lucky that the burns didn't extend below his waist. James managed a bitter little laugh at that. It was kind of strange. Objectively, James knew that Sirius was good-looking, but he had never been attracted to his almost brother that way.

There was some shouting outside, but both Aurors ignored it. They were accustomed to operating amidst chaos.

"You wish Padfoot," James winced as the paste started to numb his side. "You're just dying for a chance to touch my..."

"James, Sirius," Gideon Prewett burst into the tent, out of breath. Trainees were in the field much earlier this year. Once it was deemed they wouldn't get anyone on their own side killed just by being there they were put in the fight. "They're back."

"What?" James jumped to his feet, giving the younger wizard his full attention.

"Death Eaters," Gideon told him. "We'd just gotten the Obliviators working and most of the wounded gone when a whole bunch of them showed up. They grabbed a bunch of Obliviators and Healers and Portkeyed them away. They only fought for a few minutes before leaving."

"Lily," James grabbed Gideon's robes. "Where is Lily?"

Gideon's eyes told him everything. He held out a slender wand, Lily's wand, "I'm sorry James."

With a thrust James released his fellow Auror and Order member and Gideon stumbled out through the tent's opening. James followed, putting his robes back on over the burns. He forced himself to move despite the pain and vaguely heard Sirius apologizing to Gideon for him and following. James took a vial out of his potions pouch and drank it, tossing the empty glass container to the ground.

"What's this?" Sirius caught up with him, holding the empty vial.

"Sengalli's Serum," James replied and heard his friend gasp.

The Serum had been developed centuries ago, around the time that Healers were grouping together and forming the first wizarding hospitals. The Potions Master that invented it, and Italian wizard named Andrea Sengalli, was looking for a potion that would heal the worst of injuries instantly. He only managed to create a serum that allowed the user to ignore whatever injuries they had for a period of up to two hours, even if those injuries were fatal, and operate on their normal level. When it faded all the pain came back, including, however, the injuries that were aggravated during the time elapsed.

The use of Sengalli's Serum was highly frowned upon, but Severus had brewed it for James with the understanding that James only take it in an extreme emergency. Lily had charmed the vials so that both she and Severus would know if James took the potion and would be ready to help him if he needed it.

"Shove it Padfoot," James snarled, glaring at his best friend. "I am going after my wife and unborn child. Now are you going to stand there all disapprovingly or are you going to help me?"

It was like a slap across the face. Sirius's jaw flapped for a second, but he glared back, "You're insane if you think I'd let you do this alone."

The Prewett brothers were soon standing with them, offering their help, and James nodded tightly. He was thankful once more for the ancient bonding ceremony that Lily had chosen for their wedding. It allowed him to trace her through their bond, and not even wards cast by Voldemort would stop him.

"Give me some time to find her," James requested from his friends. They all nodded and he sat down, closing his eyes and concentrating. He felt Sirius kneel beside him, as if comforting him, while the Prewetts fielded questions from those who came near.

There was a rush of... something... through his whole body, and James felt himself drawn, almost like apparition. He knew that he stood and told the others to grad hold, but his own movements and voice were distant, reflex actions. Then it was over, and they were in a thick grouping of pine trees, the branches scraping against their arms. In a clearing was an old looking building, small and shack like.

"What are you bloody up to?" Alastor's scratchy voice startled everyone except Fabian, who must have been the one Alastor piggy-backed on for the apparition there.

James's eyes were glaring and his face was tight with anger, "We are getting my wife and my child."

"You're in no condition to fight boy," Alastor growled back. "You got us here. Leave it to us."

"He took Sengalli's," Sirius said quietly, a frown on his face.

Alastor held James by the collar of his robes, "You are getting close to an official reprimand. When this is over you and I are having a long talk."

James pushed Alastor away from him and snapped, "I don't give a fuck right now. Lily is all that matters. Lecture me all you want later."

There was a quiet 'crack', the softest apparition James had ever heard. All five Aurors had their wands pointed, but lowered them when they saw who had joined them.

"How the fuck...?" Fabian Prewett's eyes were wide.

Remus's eyes darted around, assessing the group quickly, "Albus sent me. He got some inside information. The captives are all in the basement, in cells. There are about fifty Death Eaters inside. If we're quick we might be able to get them out before the alarm is sounded."

Nods answered him and each one of them took some time to go over the news. It was much better than going in blind. James felt relief course through him. Somewhere, Severus knew what was going on and had managed to help.

"You're good with wards boy," James noticed that Alastor was addressing Remus, and wondered how well Alastor knew Remus. "Tell us what you can see."

Remus raised his wand and chanted softly. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, his eyelids fluttering as if he was asleep and dreaming.

His head snapped up quickly and he blinked, "It's just the usual assortment, but some will have to be disabled before we can go in, and that will give us away. I can give you five, maybe six minutes before they know anything, but then this place will be crawling with Death Eaters. I'll make sure apparition and Portkeys are allowed. I suggest making up a bunch now. We don't know what kind of shape the prisoners are in."

The Aurors, all Order members, nodded again, following the lead of the only non-Auror among them in an odd twist. Not for the first time James wondered at this change in Remus, wondered how he had missed it.

Alastor called for back-up on his mirror. This was turning into a full scale assault on a Death Eater stronghold. Each of the Aurors started summoning sticks and creating Portkeys that they shoved in their pockets. They knew how many captives had been taken that night, but others could be there as well.

Other Aurors started arriving and Remus was concentrating again, taking down the wards. James saw some of the Aurors giving Remus funny looks, as he was the only one not in Auror robes, or even dressed in robes at all. He was wearing jeans and a jumper, certainly not the type of clothing expected in a raid. They didn't have long to wonder though, as Remus raised his left hand and started signaling them to move in.

James let Alastor take the lead, as he was clearly the better choice. All James wanted was Lily. If they got others out that was well and good, but James's mission was finding his wife.

The attack was a blur. They were inside the shack and a group of them slipped down into the basement while a solid wall of Aurors prevented the Death Eaters from following them.

"Bloody hell," one of the Aurors with James cursed.

Bloody hell was right. It was an extensive dungeon, not a basement. There were multiple levels below ground and cell doors all along the hall.

"Okay," Alastor took charge, "let's do this as quickly as possible. Open a door, toss in a Portkey, don't bother to assess condition beyond assuring that you don't send a Death Eater to the Healers, got it?"

The team nodded and they proceeded down the hall. James had opened a dozen doors and sent away five captives, all of whom looked half-dead, if not dead already. Still, though, he had not seen Lily.

Screams echoed through the dungeons and James recognized the voice. It was Lily. He heard a growl behind him and saw that Remus was with him. James was thankful, knowing how fiercely Remus protected his pack. Sirius was there as well, his eyes hard and determined.

The three of them ran down stairs, Remus's ears leading the way as he pointed left, right, and down. Sirius and Remus shot out curse after curse, knocking down Death Eaters that were headed up to join the fight.

"Lily!" James yelled as they entered a large room. He could see his wife down on her knees, her hands over her stomach, tears streaming down her face. Remus and Sirius were fighting with a group of guards and the figure that had his back to James, his wand on Lily, spun around and smiled.

James felt his heart skip a beat. It was those same red eyes again, the evil bastard that had killed his parents. He gripped his wand tightly and swallowed.

"How nice to see you Ja –"

He wasn't going to stand for formalities just then. James shot a barrage of curses at the Dark Lord and felt a surge of pleasure when more than one of them actually struck. James took Lily's wand out of his pocket and sent even more curses. Her wand didn't work as well for him, but it was enough to channel his pure rage and fire off blasting curses.

Voldemort quickly had a shield up though. His smile turned into a sneer and his hand went to his cheek, which had a deep gash in it. It came away red with blood and even the sneer disappeared. The mouth went into a tight line and the eyes flashed. James knew from listening to Severus that this was a bad sign indeed.

He needed a distraction, and luckily he got one. Remus physically lifted up one of the Death Eaters he was fighting and threw him across the room. Voldemort had to move to avoid being hit by the body of his servant. The man was screaming, one of his arms twisted so it faced the wrong way, his shoulder clearly ruined.

James tossed Lily her wand and a Portkey. They both began cursing Voldemort, dodging and shielding against the numerous curses he sent their way. James stole a look to make sure Remus and Sirius were doing okay and saw Remus sniffing the air. He also saw Voldemort looking at Remus with an expression that was almost hunger.

"There are more coming!" Remus called out loudly. "Get out of here now!"

James dodged a killing curse and it struck a stone behind him, making it explode and send fragments all over the room. The Serum was starting to wear off and sweat broke out all over his body. He pulled out another Portkey and made sure Lily got away before activating his own, a yell of frustration accompanying their departure.

The hook behind his naval was a welcome sensation for once. James landed harshly, twisting his ankle as he fell, yelling as his burns made contact with the ground. He almost blacked out, but forced himself to keep going just a little longer, just long enough to make sure Lily was safe.

"Did you really have to go through all of that just so you could spend Christmas at home?" Alice Longbottom sat at their bedside and smiled as she handed both Potters some vials.

Lily had nearly fully drained herself, using her magic to shield her unborn child, even from the Cruciatus Curse, saving nothing to protect herself. She was healing quickly, but Poppy had insisted she stay in bed for a full week and not work until the child was born.

James had complicated his own injuries by taking Sengalli's Serum. The burns had broken open and bled, and the dust and stone fragments in the air had infected them. He was sicker than he had ever been in his life.

"You know me Alice," James coughed and every muscle tightened at the pain it caused. "I just love Christmas."

The Ministry had decided after Lily was captured that no pregnant witch was allowed in the field. That put Alice behind a desk, working regular hours, with all the veterans who were no longer suited for combat. It also left her available to help nurse the Potters back to health.

James was thankful that Albus had sent Severus with a supply of potions to help them. Severus had chastised them both thoroughly for being entirely too reckless and Gryffindorish, as he put it. James took the scolding silently, seeing that Sev was shaken by their injuries. Luckily, Poppy's scans showed that the baby was completely undisturbed by the events.

James and Lily were not the only ones who sustained injury in that raid. Alastor had lost half his right leg, though he still managed to capture the Death Eater that caused the injury. He was being fitted with a prosthetic limb at St. Mungo's, but what angered the older Auror was that it meant he was taken off active duty until he was fit to duel again.

The _Prophet_ had done a five page article on the raid, focusing on Lily and James Potter. They were hailed as heroes. A picture of them both, bleeding and near collapse after they Portkeyed away from the dungeon, Lily's pregnancy obvious, was on the front page, along with a picture from their wedding. Actual fan mail had come to the Manor, and Alice had to read it aloud to the bedridden pair.

When the _Prophet_ finally got an interview with the Potters, they told how they had come face to face with Voldemort himself, the reporter had squeaked and snapped his quill, and how they refused to be afraid of him. They encouraged the entire world to cease fearing his name and to fight against him as one. Public admiration for them nearly exceeded that for Albus Dumbledore and the Potters were seen as the model for a 'light' family.

It was a little more than a week before James's burns healed, the recovery slow because of the complications from the infection. Lily, still weak from magical drain and unable to take Replenisher because of the baby, begged him not to go back to work, and it broke James's heart to refuse her. He was still needed. She did still attend Order meetings, and was put to work planning and analyzing information.

Little by little they both recovered fully, though there was a light missing from Lily's eyes that James suspected had also dimmed in his. While many captives had been rescued, some of them Aurors that had been presumed dead, many friends were officially on the list of the deceased. Despite what was seen by the wizarding world at large as a major victory, the side of light was still losing, and the Potters wondered what kind of world they were going to have to give to their son.

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	62. 61: Wolfsbane

**Chapter Sixty-One: Wolfsbane**

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"I'm sorry Ellie," Remus put down his fork and sighed, "I'm just not hungry."

"You need food," Perenelle Flamel insisted, taking on a motherly role that she found herself using quite often with her lodger, who was quickly becoming like an adopted son. "Eat half of what's on your plate."

She didn't miss the little laugh from the werewolf as he put a bit of french toast with apple compote on it in his mouth, chewing and swallowing with obvious effort, "Yes Mum."

Ellie rolled her eyes at him, but was inwardly glad that Remus was acting a little childish for once. When they had first met the prodigy (She and Nick had deemed him as such after only a week at their home and even conducted a series of tests to determine not only his I.Q., but also to check a variety of other specific skills – Remus had tested off the charts in his mathematic ability and detail observation skills) he was a grown man in the body of a teenage, already hardened by his condition and the war. He was so serious, so determined, and his mind was truly amazing. His honor to be working with them was soon their honor to be a part of shaping the extraordinary young wizard.

Not for the first time Ellie cursed the entire wizarding world for their attitude towards anyone the least bit different. No muggle she met was anywhere near as bigoted as the majority of wizards and witches.

"What did you put in his potion this time?" Ellie accosted her husband once Remus had left, announcing he needed a nap even though he only woke up a few hours earlier.

Nick sighed, "I've tried a few things. One of my theories is that the wolf is so violent, and the human mind so repressed, from a ferocious hunger for human. I've tried to repress hunger. He'll be practically starving when he wakes, but the wolf shouldn't be hungry at all."

"And your other theory?" Ellie asked him, her lips pressed together. She hated what these potions did to Remus. His curse was bad enough without experimental potions making his transformations even worse.

He winced, and Ellie knew that what he did was risky, "I thought that perhaps if the wolf is weakened then Remus's mind will be able to fight for control. The two combined should be enough really, but in order to weaken the wolf..."

Ellie raised her eyebrows, "Yes?"

"Wolfsbane," Nick answered quietly, "poison. It's less than a fatal dose, and countered by other stabilizing ingredients."

She held her breath for a moment, afraid, and closed her eyes tightly against tears. She was getting too attached to Remus. He couldn't stay with them forever. He had friends outside their little sanctuary, his pack. The separation he already had from them was almost too much for him at times, though he never showed it.

"You have a monitoring charm on him?" Ellie finally managed to ask.

Nick nodded and she was relieved, "Every month I do. If the slightest thing changes I note it. Remus knows the risk love, but he feels that the potential discovery is worth whatever these trials do to him."

Tears came to her eyes, knowing that one of these potions might one day kill the young man she was so attached to. That was sometimes the price of advancement.

"I know love," Nick hugged her and she let her face bury in his robes and the tears fall freely. "I love him too. I'll do everything I can to keep him alive and strong."

She nodded, not speaking, and felt her husband twitch just slightly, no doubt reacting to the monitoring charm. They stood there, quietly, for an hour or so as the morning's breakfast hardened on the plates. When Nick let her go Ellie swished her wand and started the dishes washing themselves. Nick raised an eyebrow at her.

"Remus uses it," Ellie excused herself. She had once sworn she would never learn those domestic charms that had been created in the past hundred years.

The day was excruciatingly long for both of the Flamels. They worked on information about possible locations for bases of the Dark Lord. Remus did not wake until well after lunch and only ate a few crackers before padding off to shut himself in his transformation room, the door charmed transparent so Nick cold observe when he needed to.

Ellie passed by a few time before moonrise to see Remus sitting, naked, with his back to the door, head bent down in meditation. She knew he was preparing himself and saw by the twitches of his muscles that he was in pain already. It was the Wolfsbane, she knew it. If a werewolf consumed enough of the plant it would kill them, and it was an extremely painful death from what she read.

Nick walked up next to her and slipped an arm around her waist, "I know El, I know. He's been hurting for hours, but there's nothing we can do."

She tensed, knowing that there was actually plenty they could do, but nothing that would be helpful in the long term. It would take more than the two of them to stun him with his inherent resistance to spells, and he had to be conscious to fight against the domination of the wolf.

"I'll be in the library," Ellie told her husband. "I can't watch this."

Nick nodded, fully understanding his wife's reluctance to stay. Remus was like a son to both of them, and Nick wondered once more why they had never had children. There had been others like Remus though, young wizards and witches that studied with them, lived in their home for a time, and became the children they never had. Albus was one of those, and Alastor Moody another.

The transformation started, and Nick nearly fell to the ground under the impact of the pain that the monitoring charm was picking up. It was the worst pain that had ever accompanied one of these transformations and Nick felt a sweat break out on his forehead and upper lip.

Remus writhed on the floor, his mouth open in a silent scream, a silencing spell blocking any passage of sound in or out of the room.

It was a grotesque process to watch, the breaking and reforming of bones, the tearing of muscle and skin, fur sprouting out all over the body. The screams normally changed to howls, leaving a panting wolf to prowl the room, snarling, snapping, and attacking the furniture that was there for that purpose.

This month was different though. Something was wrong Nick realized before the transformation was even complete. Remus's heartbeat didn't usually seize like this, his breathing didn't get this labored. Nick wanted to throw open the door and do something, anything, to help the boy, but he couldn't.

A wolf lay on the hard floor, back to the door, chest only barely moving with breath. The pain was still immense and the heartbeat was weakening. Still the wolf didn't move, didn't prowl or attack or even growl, and Nick couldn't see his eyes, couldn't see if it was the wolf or Remus looking out of them.

The heart wasn't getting any better and Nick went over the ingredients in his mind, the quantities. The Wolfsbane was not a lethal amount, but what if the stress of the transformation and the different physiology of the wolf changed that? He made a decision and broke into a run, bringing Ellie back from the library.

"His heart is weak, and it's not recovering," Nick said almost frantically.

Ellie nodded and started casting spells. She was a better Healer than Nick was. He knew it was a grave situation when she gasped and pressed her hand against her chest.

"He's dying Nick," Ellie turned to him with her eyes wide and her lip trembling. "We need to do something. He's dying."

"Fawkes!" Nick cried out loudly. The phoenix arrived moments later in their hall in a burst of flame and sang, his song a comfort. "Bring Albus here immediately. It's an emergency."

Not two minutes passed before Albus was standing with them, his wand out and ready for action. He saw that he was safely in their home and questioned them with no more than a look in his eyes.

"It's Remus," Nick said harshly. "We need your help restraining him while we treat him."

Albus's crystal clear blue eyes dulled slightly as he took in the situation and he nodded. Nick opened the door with a flick of his wand and there was no reaction from the wolf. Ropes appeared, holding the wolf's legs all together, and a muzzle covered his snout so he couldn't bite. Not even a whimper came from him.

Ellie raced in and knelt by the wolf's side, casting a series of diagnostic spells and a variety of medical charms, Nick prying the wolf's mouth open with a piece of wood just enough so he could pour in some potions. Before he began working he drew a vial of blood that he would need to test later. He poured the first potion in and massaged the wolf's throat to force him to swallow.

All the while Albus had his wand trained on the wolf, ready to cast a number of restraining spells should the wolf heal and try to break free.

Sobs came from Nick's wife. He turned to look at her and she was shaking her head, "Nothing is working. Nick it's not working."

Nick felt his breathing shudder, and he looked up at Albus, seeing tears start to drip into the white beard.

Of all the people the Flamels had known over the years, Albus was the only one they had offered the Elixir of Life to, first when he was twenty, then thirty, and then again after he defeated Grindelwald. Each time Albus had refused, claiming no desire to live beyond his natural span of years.

Just as it was wrong to kill, Nick felt it was wrong to force immortality on anyone, a viewpoint that every vampire he met sympathized with, but did not entirely agree with, as they did both as a means of survival, individually and as a race.

"I cannot advise you there, my friend," Albus said in a voice that was clearly trying not to show the level of emotion he was feeling.

Nick nodded and stood, leaving his wife weeping over the semiconscious wolf and Albus still training his wand on Remus in the unlikely event that he attacked. He walked quickly through their house, towards a room that was more heavily warded than any other.

Within was a magical artifact that was one reason the Flamels went into voluntary exile, the reason they were alive. The Sorcerer's Stone was remarkably small considering the power it contained. Nick gave the password and stood in the wash of the wards for them to identify his magic, a ward specifically designed by Ellie for this room.

He was allowed in and he immediately picked up the stone and crossed to a work table. The process of making the Elixir of Life was rather simple, once the stone itself was crafted. That was the difficult part. He took a beaker down, filled it with pure distilled spring water, and submerged the stone. It took a few minutes for the stone to transmute the water into the Elixir, and he levitated it out once the process was complete.

Glowing red beaker clutched in one hand, Nick quickly returned to the transformation room. They had never discussed this with Remus, never asked him if they could resort to this method to save his life. One drink was not enough to sustain a life indefinitely, but like with an alcoholic, one drink was both too much and never enough. Any unnatural lengthening of life had negative consequences. Immortality as a werewolf would be intolerable, and Remus would always feel the temptation for more after this. The Elixir of Life was highly addictive.

"Nick, please," Ellie pleaded as he entered the room.

Nick looked to Albus, who looked so old yet felt so young, and even Albus nodded, his eyes glistening with tears.

He took a deep breath and lifted the limp head, mouth still opened by the wooden dowel, "Get ready Albus. This will heal him, but it will also completely purge his system. If anything worked in my potion it no longer will."

"I am ready when you are Nick," Albus said serenely, though he was clearly feeling as much pain as the Flamels were.

Remus's vital signs were almost completely faded, and Nick knew that if he waited any longer, not even the Elixir would heal his adoptive son. He poured the glowing red liquid into the werewolf's mouth and massaged the throat.

As if they had never been close to fading away altogether, the heat beat and breathing were suddenly at normal levels again.

"Get out, quick," Nick said harshly, jumping up from the floor, beaker clattering to the ground and spilling the bit of Elixir left.

The door slammed shut and the wards sprang into place. Nick cancelled the monitoring charm, knowing it was no longer necessary as the wolf thrashed, breaking apart the magical bindings, ropes and muzzle. There was a growl, and then something strange happened.

Remus lapped up the spilled Elixir, like a dying man in the desert drinking water from an oasis. Not a drop of the glowing red liquid remained on the floor of the room or on the inside of the beaker.

Normal behavior for the wolf returned and Remus began ripping apart an old quilt that had been put in the room. He destroyed furniture and clawed at the walls, dug at the floor, trying to escape and run free. His eyes were glowing even brighter than usual, that yellow glow that was characteristic of a werewolf.

Ellie clutched at Nick, still crying.

Nick turned his gaze to Albus, "He is going to hate us for this."

Albus put a hand on Nick's shoulder, "I don't think it is in Remus's nature to hate. He may be upset, but he will understand."

Nick just prayed to the God that his mother had taught him about when he was just a little boy still in dresses. He had not prayed in many years, had become an atheist in his many years, seeing what religion did to the world, the wars and hatred it spawned. That early belief was still ingrained in him though, and he found himself turning to it time and again, whenever he felt emptiness in his soul.

The Flamels cared for Remus the next day like they always did, giving him potions and charms to heal the injuries inflicted on him by the wolf.

It wasn't until several days later that Nick sat down with Remus and explained what happened that night, how close Remus came to dying and what Nick had done to avert such a crisis.

Remus had not reacted at first, his face neutral. Nick had held his breath in anticipation of anger and accusation.

Neither came though, and Remus just nodded slowly, as if someone had told him that Puddlemere United had just won a game against the Chudley Cannons, or some other such random news.

"It worked," Remus said instead, completely confusing Nick.

"You're not upset with us?"

"You saved my life. You acted out of love. How could I possibly be angry at that?"

Nick felt his chest tighten. He didn't deserve this, "You'll crave it Remus. You'll always want more."

The look Remus gave him was one of determination, "Do you think I have ever given into any craving in this life? I have been controlling my desires, my impulses, ever emotion I've ever felt, since I was bitten. Fighting one more will not break me."

Once again Nick somehow felt that Remus had taught him, rather than the other way around. He had absolution. Then he remembered what Remus had told him, "What do you mean it worked?"

There was a glint in the still amber eyes, still glowing a bit more than usual. Remus wouldn't be able to leave the house until that glow died down.

"I had my mind Nick, at least until I passed out I did," Remus was grinning at him, as if the pain he felt, and was still feeling, had been nothing. "I knew when Albus arrived. He hogtied me and put the muzzle on so you could safely feed me potions. I heard Ellie crying. I saw you and her trying to heal me." Remus took a deep breath. "I knew I was dying."

Nick was caught between amazement and eagerness to determine what had gone right and what went wrong. He grabbed Remus in a tight hug and then made for his library. He needed to test the potion from before, along with the blood he took from the wolf, and find out what had nearly killed Remus.

He was close, so close. With luck Remus would never have to submit to the wolf again.

The _Daily Prophet_ arrived and Nick sighed as he unrolled it. The headlines rarely changed recently, just different names.

**PREWETT BROTHERS KILLED, TAKING SIX DEATH EATERS WITH THEM**

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	63. 62: The One

**Chapter Sixty-Two: The One**

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"Harold James Potter."

James stood back and admired his work. The nursery was done, after months of sporadic work. It had bright colors, mostly red and yellow. After all, there was no doubt that the son of James Potter would be a Gryffindor. The same furniture used for him when he was an infant but newly varnished was standing proudly on the new carpet, and the rocking chair Lily had wanted, purchased on a trip into muggle London.

There were stuffed animals, both animated and still, toys that encouraged learning, and a quidditch mobile hanging over the crib that actually acted out an entire game. Sirius had contributed the mobile after searching Hogsmeade, London, Paris, and finally writing to several quidditch teams and telling them who it was for. Every team he had written back and contributed a few players, so there were even a few reserve teams in other parts of the room. Miniature bludgers and quaffles flew around, and seekers chased after miniature snitches.

Lily only approved of the mobiles because of the color and movement, saying it would stimulate the baby's eye development and motor skills.

"Why Harold?"

He turned to Sirius and grinned, "Lily likes the name."

Sirius echoed his grin. It was Potter tradition that the firstborn son, always the firstborn child, took his father's name as a middle name. Aside from that it was the responsibility of the parents to pick the name.

"Please tell me he gets a nickname," Sirius gave James an almost desperate look.

"We're already calling him Harry," James just couldn't stop smiling lately. It was like when Lily agreed to marry him. There was death and destruction all around, but everything in the quiet confines of his home was perfect.

"Thank Merlin," Sirius exaggerated his relief. "No child should live with the name Harold, granted though it's not nearly as bad as Nymphadora."

They both burst into laughter and James shook his head, "What was your cousin _thinking_?"

Sirius shook his head, "Beats me."

"You'll be Godfather, right Padfoot?" James looked hopefully at his best friend. Truthfully, both he and Lily had wanted to ask Remus, as he was far more responsible, but no Ministry would ever give a werewolf custody of a child. "Lily already asked Alice to be the Godmother."

Sirius's eyes misted, "You know I will Padfoot."

They hugged with that firm thump on the back that somehow made hugs manlier and then Sirius started laughing again, "That poor little girl. _Nymphadora_."

James just couldn't help and joined in on the laughter again.

"What are you two clowns laughing about now," Lily approached them from down the hall, her belly protruding in her sixth month of pregnancy. "That nursery had better –"

James cut her off with a kiss and then covered her eyes, directing her into the now completed room. He removed his hands from her face with a flourish, "Ta da!"

"Oh James," Lily walked into the nursery and sat in the rocking chair, testing it out. She rocked gently, and smiled, her eyes tearing as they did at the drop of a hat recently. "It's wonderful."

James crossed over to the chair and leaned down to kiss her again.

Sirius stayed it the doorway and bobbed enthusiastically, ignoring the ever deepening kiss, "We put a quietly charm on the rocker so you can rock the baby and it won't squeak and wake him."

The kiss ended and Lily looked around her husband at his best friend, "It's lovely Sirius. Thank you so much for helping." She pursed her lips and placed her hands on the arms of the rocker, then thought better of it, "I think I'll need both of you to help out here."

Each of them took one of her hands and put a hand on the small of her back to help support it. She hugged Sirius and kissed James again, "You two did a perfect job... for once... but why didn't you get Peter and Remus to help?"

James exchanged a look with Sirius, "Peter's been busy lately. The Floo Authority is swamped monitoring fires and tracing illegal connections. We haven't heard from Remus in a few weeks."

"What?" Lily immediately became concerned and James winced. He hadn't told her for that reason. They all knew that Remus sometimes did dangerous assignments for Albus and the last time he had disappeared for a while had been for one of those missions.

"I'm sure he's fine," James tried to calm her, knowing it was a losing battle.

Lily sniffed and started towards her study, "I'm calling Albus."

James felt his shoulders slump. It wasn't like Albus could tell them if Remus was off doing something dangerous, what with the spy and all. Information was so compartmentalized now that even the Inner Circle didn't hear everything.

There was silence for a while and they walked out of the nursery, headed down the stairs and outside. It was getting warm outside, and Lily was constantly casting cooling charms around the Manor. James had taken to stashing jumpers in various rooms in case he took a chill. The sun was a welcome relief.

"What do you suppose Remus is up to?" Sirius asked him, a little tone in his voice that James didn't like. He shrugged. "Prongs..."

James turned and saw that Sirius was struggling with something, "What Padfoot?"

"What if...," Sirius took a deep breath and looked around carefully. He cast a secrecy sphere around them and James raised his eyebrows, "What if Remus is the spy?"

"He's not," James said firmly. He knew it couldn't be Remus, as Remus had much more information than was getting to Voldemort, enough even that the entire Order could be wiped out in one quick, decisive move. No, if Remus was the spy the war would have already been over.

"Hear me out James," Sirius pleaded with his eyes. "I don't want to believe it either, but we _know_ that Voldemort's been recruiting dark creatures. He could give Remus so much more than the wizarding world will. It's been two years and we still don't know where he lives, or what he's doing."

James glared at Sirius, "He's working for the Order, and Albus knows where he is living. Remus would never turn Sirius. He would never sacrifice my parents."

"We've lost so many people James!" Sirius said angrily. "Gideon and Fabian were ambushed. They were on patrol for the Order, not the Aurors, and the Death Eaters knew where they would be. How many more people do we need to lose?"

James couldn't talk to him anymore. He stalked up to the house, furious that Sirius would even consider suspecting Remus, his hands balled up in fist. Slowly, he loosened them and took a deep breath to calm himself. Sirius didn't have the same information that James and Lily did. James didn't know why, but Sirius wasn't Inner Circle. No one had been promoted to Inner Circle in a long time.

Lily was calling Albus, so James figured he should go up there and let the headmaster know what Sirius was saying. Sirius meant well, but he might spread his suspicions to other members, and everyone knew what Remus was. It could create big problems for his friend.

"He's just been busy then?" Lily's relieved voice came from her study. James followed it, and was surprised to see that Albus was there, not talking to her through the fire.

"James," Albus greeted him with a hug, which James returned thankfully. Albus was the closest thing left that either he or Lily had to a parent. He picked up the conversation again, "Yes Lily. The last full moon was very difficult and I do not anticipate sending Remus into the field again for some time. Last I saw him his head was barely visible behind a tall wall of books."

James felt a grin, "That's our Moony. Is it a self-imposed project or something for the Order this time?"

"I think both," Albus replied... and the twinkle that would normally be there with a statement like that was absent.

Lily caught on to the shift in mood as well, "What is it Albus? We know about Gideon and Fabian. Has someone else been hurt?"

"Not that I am aware of," Albus said with obvious hesitation. He sighed and spoke again, "Perhaps we should sit down. Some tea would be nice."

"We can do down to the great room," James suggested, not knowing what Albus had to tell them but knowing instinctively that he wanted to delay as long as possible.

James helped Lily down the stairs, and for once she didn't argue that she was perfectly capable of moving about the house on her own, while Albus summoned one of the house elves and asked for tea. Albus had always been accepted in the Manor as one of the family and the elves treated him as such. When James had Lily settled and took the seat beside her the elves had already set out tea and biscuits.

Nervously, James drank some tea and munched on a biscuit. He hadn't stopped shifting around since he sat and Lily put a hand on his leg in an attempt to calm him, little good it did.

"I had the misfortune of finding myself in need of a Divination Professor," Albus began his tale and James snorted. Lily elbowed him, but he could tell she felt the same. Neither of them had much respect for Divination. Albus raised his eyebrows and continued, "I have been contemplating discontinuing the subject, as Hogwarts has not produced a seer in many tens of years. Should a child come along with the talent, private tutorage would most likely be more effective anyway.

"I do not know why, but I decided to give it one more try." Albus paused for some tea and a lemon cream frosted cake (the elves knew Albus well). "A descendant of Cassandra Trelawney, the celebrated seer, sent in an inquiry regarding the job, claiming to have inherited her ancestor's talent."

At that James and Lily both perked up a bit. An actual seer was an entirely different thing. Lily spoke for both of them, "Why does this concern us Albus?"

"It may not," Albus sighed again and James saw that there were subtle bags under his eyes. He suspected that Albus had not been sleeping well. "I pray for you both that it does not concern you. I interviewed the woman, she had taken lodgings at the Hog's Head, and had nearly given up, when she went into trance and prophesied."

James felt his head shaking. He knew it was bad new, had to be for Albus to be this upset, "Please Albus. Just tell us quickly."

"Very well. The prophecy she told me is as follows," Albus took a deep breath. _"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as an equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives."_

Lily's hands automatically went to her child, protectively covering her stomach, "Not Harry, not my baby."

"It is either Harry, or Neville," Albus told them plainly, sadly.

James sucked in a breath, "Frank and Alice."

"I told them just before I came here," Albus looked at them both gravely. "I am afraid that is not all. One of the servants of Lord Voldemort was listening outside the door. He managed to hear the first half of the prophecy before he was forcefully removed from the premises."

"No," James looked at his substitute grandfather angrily. "I will not let that bastard come after my family. I will not let them be in that kind of danger."

Albus did not react to the anger in James's voice, and some little part of James bitterly wanted to hit the old man and see if anything could get a reaction out of him. He just sat there calmly and told James and Lily that Voldemort would be trying to kill their son, who was not even born yet.

"There is a way for you to hide, at least until we either discover whether Neville or Harry is the subject of the prophecy, or until they are both grown." Albus paused. "It is also possible that the Death Eaters will be defeated, Voldemort imprisoned, and the prophecy unnecessary for many years."

"We'll do anything Albus, anything at all," Lily desperately said, still with her hands on Harry.

"A member of the Order created a Charm just recently called the Fidelius Charm," Albus went on to explain the charm and how it worked. "You need not go into hiding yet. Voldemort will wait to see what children are born at the end of July before acting. For all we know you and Alice will both be late, and this child is waiting to be born in China or America, or some other country."

"But you don't think so," James said hollowly.

"No James," Albus shook his head, "I must admit I believe that either Harry or Neville will be the child of the prophecy. This is the country that Voldemort most threatens, the country where the prophecy was made, and so I think our savior will come from this country as well."

"Savior," Lily repeated in a whisper, looking down at her stomach.

James stood. He needed to call Severus there, needed Harry's other parent in on this. There was no question in his mind. He knew deep in his gut, with a certainty that had never before been so strong about anything in his life, that Harry was the one spoken of. Severus had now defied Voldemort countless times. He defied Voldemort every day just by living, and in some way they all did.

They agreed to use the Fidelius Charm once Harry was born, discussed the details a little further, and Albus left. As soon as Albus was gone James sent an emergency summoning to Severus.

He sat down to wait for Severus to arrive. Feeling sick to his stomach, James drank some more tea. Lily was crying silently, and James found that he didn't know how to comfort her just then. He sat as still as a statue, not even moving when the fireplace flared green and Severus stepped through.

"What is it?" Severus asked in fear as he stood in front of them. He went straight to Lily and knelt in front of her, his hands joining hers. "Is it the baby?"

"Albus was just here," James explained in a monotone. He was empty, defeated. "There was a prophecy about a child and Voldemort. It's either Harry, or Frank and Alice's child."

"What did it say?" Severus asked, raising James's face so they looked each other in the eye.

"Voldemort will mark a child as his equal, and one day one of them will kill the other," Lily said and then repeated the exact wording of the prophecy. James felt his heart clench just hearing the words again.

"One of them will kill the other," Severus repeated in awe with a tinge of fear. "Our child might be able kill him," Severus looked at his arm where the Dark Mark was burned.

"We're going into hiding. Frank and Alice are, too. Albus offered to be our Secret Keeper, but he's doing it for them. A Death Eater overheard part of the prophecy Sev. He knows a child will have the power to kill him, but not that it will be one or the other of them eventually. Severus, we can't... you...," James couldn't finish what he was saying.

Severus paled and James knew that he was realizing the thoughts that had been tumbling around in James's brain as he waited. His position was more dangerous than ever. Not long after his initiation, and after several arguments with James and Lily, Severus had gone to Albus and offered to be his spy.

He still hadn't fully mastered Occlumency though, and the Dark Lord was a master Legilimens. The next time he was summoned it would be obvious that something was wrong... and the Dark Lord would discover everything.

"Lily, you can legally memory charm anyone you see fit?" Severus asked in a detached tone, coming to decision. James knew what he was thinking, and knew it was probably the right decision, but felt even more sick than before. There was moisture on his cheeks as tears fell.

"Yes. All the Obliviators have been given pretty much unlimited power, what with all the attacks on muggles," she said slowly, realization clearly dawning on her face. "No, Sev, you can't be suggesting..."

"I am suggesting exactly that," Severus took his Potions Professor stance and tone to hide his own uncertainty that James knew had to be there. "The Dark Lord would gladly kill for the rest of that prophecy. I am a danger to you and the Longbottoms... and our son. Erase it all... the prophecy... us... everything. We never should have used that potion or even continued this relationship before I mastered Occlumency. When you come out of hiding you can reverse it. We will all be safer this way," he said calmly, his mask of indifference rising. James felt as though with each word Severus was cutting out his heart with a dull blade.

James was not fooled. He stood up and gently caressed Severus's face, "We will come back for you. I promise we'll come back."

The two men embraced and held each other as though for the last time, neither one able to hold back tears. Their kiss, their last kiss, was desperate and passionate, filled with more emotion than any one person could contain. Severus pulled away all too soon, knelt down, and kissed Lily's swollen abdomen. Lily smoothed back his hair in a motherly gesture of comfort. He looked up at James and mouthed 'I love you' before turning to Lily and nodding. He closed his eyes and James steeled himself.

She pointed her wand at him with a practiced ease, her hand steady despite the tears tracing a path down her cheeks, _Obliviate_.

James nearly collapsed as Lily carefully went through Severus's thoughts and locked away anything that had to do with James and love, with Lily and friendship... with Harry. She implanted new memories, a very difficult task but Lily was the brightest witch James ever met.

Before she was done James left the room. He knew what Severus would be like when it was over and he couldn't handle that now, couldn't see that terrible sneer aimed in his direction. He made it to a bathroom and his breakfast found its way into the basin.

James heaved again and again until there was nothing left. Tawney appeared with a washcloth and glass of water with diluted Stomach Settler. As the elf cared for him when he was a child, Tawney cared for him now. James just sat on the floor and wept. He didn't know how long he cried, or when Lily joined him and pressed a golden ring into his hand.

She cradled his head and he shook, tears wetting her shirt. He clutched Severus's ring so tightly the imprint didn't leave his hand for days.

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	64. 63: Code 34

**Chapter Sixty-Three: Code 34**

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James Potter tore through the Ministry, and those watching him were either highly amused or concerned. It was not every day that an Auror ran through the corridors, used stairs instead of the lift, apologized loudly for knocking people to ground, and whooped and hollered all the way.

"Lily's having the baby!"

He announced it to all and sundry.

It was the evening of the thirtieth of July and James was on night duty. As Lily had already passed her due date there was constantly a Marauder on duty at the Manor, waiting for her to go into labor. That night it was Remus, and James guessed that all five of them, Marauders plus Lily, were thankful that it was Remus. He calmly made firecalls to Poppy Pomfrey at Hogwarts to let her know he was bringing Lily, to Sirius and Peter at their homes, and to James at the Ministry. He even, though James didn't know it, made a telephone call from London to Lily's sister, and she promptly hung up on him, but Lily had requested it so Remus agreed.

The ecstatic Auror skidded to a halt in the Atrium, jumped to the front of the outgoing Floo line, apologized and loudly announced to the line why, and was on his way to Hogwarts. It was less than an hour after most employees usually left, so the lines were still long. Those that had been irritated at the Auror, whose face they all now recognized from the _Prophet_, forgave him immediately upon hearing his excuse.

What amused those working at the Ministry even more was that the same thing had occurred only a few hours previously, only that Auror sped through the Ministry corridors with much more decorum... and much less noise.

The Marauders descended on Hogwarts for the first time in two years, making as much noise as they always had in the school. Summer being a normally quiet time at the school, all the ghosts gathered around the infirmary to find out what the ruckus was about, which they spread to the portraits, the house elves, the staff, and any suit of armor that they could rouse the interest in.

Amusingly enough, they did not reach Severus Snape with their information. One of his first acts upon moving into the school was to ward his personal quarters against the school's ghosts, portraits, and anything else that might wander in to disturb his sanctuary.

Unfortunately, those wards could not be applied the elves, who needed access to clean and bring him anything he wanted from the kitchens, or to his fireplace, where the staff might call on him for some inane reason or another.

"Severus!"

He looked up from _Potions Masters Monthly_, where he was reading about the progress that Nicolas Flamel was making on a potion to ease the werewolf transformation. It carefully gave no detail on the composition of the potion itself, but talked in general terms on the effects and setbacks. Apparently he had nearly killed his test subject more than once. The thought brought a smirk to Severus's face.

"Yes Poppy?"

"I am going to need several potions over the course of the night and probably into the morning," Poppy announced. Severus could hear quite a bit of background noise and wondered what in the name of Merlin was going on in her infirmary as there were no students in the castle.

Severus raised an eyebrow, "Could you be more specific?"

"I have a woman in labor," Poppy was distracted for a moment, "and another on her way in."

His second eyebrow joined the first, "You've opened a maternity ward then?"

"These are special cases Severus," Poppy said in a firm tone, as if he was still a student. "Now, I don't have time for your wit, dry or otherwise. Do you know which potions I will need?"

The combination of insults made him bristle, first on his humor then his professional knowledge, "I assure you I am quite capable Poppy. I will bring you your potions shortly."

"Thank you."

The connection ended, the flames going back to their normal coloration, and Severus went into his lab and pulled down a book. The spine protested as he opened to the section needed, a clear indication that he had never even looked at these potions, much less brewed them. He checked the ingredients and saw he had everything except one.

A house elf appeared with a clap of his hands.

"What can Tibsy do for sir?"

"Go to the hospital wing and inform Poppy that I need blood from each mother, one vial should suffice, make sure they are labeled with the name of the mother, and then bring them back to me here."

The elf left without further words. After a few months Severus had gotten the elves fully trained as to how he they were to behave in his presence. They were succinct, polite, and quick. The elf returned and placed the vials in a stand, leaving without saying a word. They also knew to be as quiet as possible when he was in the process of brewing.

Severus walked up to the hospital wing and recognized the voices coming from inside from two corridors away. He groaned before opening the doors.

"Snivellous!" Black greeted him cheerfully.

Though he would have loved to return the favor and break the idiot's nose Severus ignored him, besides which his hands were full. He crossed over to Poppy and handed her two trays of vials.

"Each tray is clearly labeled," Severus said to her in a low tone. "The green tray is for Potter and the yellow for Longbottom."

"Thank you Severus," Poppy smiled at him and patted his shoulder. If nothing else, she was always kind to him, which Severus could not say for the entire staff.

"Ahhh!" Potter's exclamation rang through the wing and laughter followed.

Lupin made a tic mark in the air with his wand, "That's hex number twelve for Lily. She's still far ahead of Alice."

There was a scoreboard floating next to the chair Lupin had commandeered, the headmaster seated next to him. Another hex sounded and the headmaster made a tic on his side of the board for the Longbottoms. Things settled down and the two laboring women talked to each other while their husbands worked on reversing the hexes.

"Lucky too," Frank Longbottom was rubbing his backside. "Alice has wicked aim."

Pettigrew was standing with Black between beds and they both snickered at Longbottom's uncomfortable position.

"You could simply take away their wands," Severus said dryly.

Eight heads turned to look at him and Black shook his head, "Nah. That would take all the fun away!"

"Fun!" Lily Potter and Alice Longbottom exclaimed together.

Two more tic marks were entered on the scoreboard and Black discovered why a jelly-legs hex should never be combined with a body bind. Pettigrew and Potter nearly dragged each other to the ground in their laughter while Lupin rose from his seat and sorted out the best way to remove the hexes, his laughter much more contained.

Severus did not know why he lingered. The people in that room, more specifically the Marauders came right after the Dark Lord and most of the Death Eaters on his list of least favorite sentient beings, though Black was a close call where sentience was concerned.

_Expell –_

"No!" Seven voices cried out and multiple hands grabbed for Pettigrew's wand, though Lupin was the quickest.

"You cannot use magic on a woman in labor," Lupin explained in a voice that Severus assumed he had used nearly every night at Hogwarts while walking Pettigrew step by step through his homework. "Doing so could injure both the woman and the child."

Pettigrew paled and stammered his apologies, hardly noticing that Lupin pocketed his wand, probably for the duration of the evening.

Alice Longbottom cried out again and her husband rushed to her side, calling out for Poppy, who bustled past Severus and the Marauders. The activity around that bed increased and Severus guessed that Longbottom Jr. was on his or her way into the world. He honestly had no trouble with either Longbottom as he had had next to no contact with them in school. A sudden dread filled him when he realized he would probably be teaching the children that were being born that evening.

"We're having a baby!" Severus was trying to figure out a way he could retire within ten years and didn't notice James Potter bounding towards him until the Auror put a hand on either one of his cheeks and kissed him firmly on the lips.

Severus spluttered and wiped at his mouth while Black and Pettigrew went into further hysterics. Lupin just shook his head and Potter turned away, going back to his wife.

"I cannot believe you James Aaron Potter," Lily Potter scolded.

"I believe, Albus," Severus spoke with as much restrain as possible, "that I will go and get fully inebriated in an attempt to forget this night ever happened."

Albus nodded, that Merlin be damned twinkle at full sparkle, "Of course Severus. We will all be celebrating before the night is over. Please convey the good news to Rosmerta should you wander into Hogsmeade."

By which, of course, Albus meant that he should report to the Dark Lord. Severus had been specifically instructed by his more violent master to discover if there were any children due to be born at the end of July to women in Albus's Order, especially if Albus was interested in said births. That the headmaster was attending two births in one evening was certainly confirmation.

Severus made his first stop at The Three Broomsticks, having a few drinks and letting Rosmerta know the 'good news', before concentrating on his Mark and apparating away to the Dark Lord. He hated Potter even more that night for giving him yet another reason he had to spend time with his master.

James kissed Lily on the forehead as Poppy pulled the curtains around Alice. The rest of the Longbottoms were waiting in another room in the castle where they could have a bit of peace. Albus offered a room for the three Marauders who had not fathered a child being born that evening, but they declined. Lily told him that she was stuck with one of them, so it may as well be all four. Whatever they did it was sure to help pass the time.

"What did you kiss Snivellous for?" Sirius looked at James in disgust, sticking his tongue out.

James shrugged, grin plastered across his face, "I'm happy. I'd probably kiss the giant squid right about now."

"Probably not as slimy," Peter whispered to Sirius, causing yet another bout of tear inducing laughter.

Neville Francis Longbottom was born at 9:27 on the evening of the thirtieth of July. The Marauders behaved long enough for the rest of the Longbottom family to crowd around the bed and see the newborn child.

Just over twelve hours later Lily gave birth to Harold James Potter. Sirius actually had tears falling when he held his godson for the first time, and he was too worried about dropping the baby to try to wipe them away. Harry was therefore christened with his godfather's tears.

Remus felt a deep instinctual pull towards the baby and when he held him declared that Harry was fully a member of the pack. All babies are born with blue eyes, but Remus knew without a doubt that his Cub's eyes were going to be a beautiful emerald green, just like his mother's. He was reluctant to pass Harry on to Peter, but managed to give the baby away.

Peter looked to be the most nervous all holding the baby, and he was. Too many thoughts were racing through his mind and guilt was ripping at his insides. He stammered a few words to Lily before gratefully passing Harry to the headmaster, who Peter could still not manage to address as Albus.

"He is beautiful," Albus proclaimed, carrying the child back to Lily and James.

The new mother and father cooed and examined every inch of their baby. Their grins were recorded on film, bloodshot and baggy eyes from lack of sleep and all.

The very next morning Sirius performed the Fidelius Charm under the direction of Albus Dumbledore to ensure the safety of the Potters. Albus had performed the same charm for the Longbottoms the night before.

When Remus was told that the Potters were going under the Fidelius Charm and that Sirius was to be their Secret Keeper he had immediately tried to talk James out of it. He tried to persuade James to use Dumbledore. He reminded him that Sirius had a tendency to be rash and irresponsible. James argued that Sirius would never do anything that could risk James's life.

At that statement Remus had recoiled and very quietly said that Sirius had already recklessly risked all their lives for the sake of a joke. He had left Potter Manor with the argument unresolved and only returned when his instincts called out to him with a need for his pack, his Cub, over a month later.

Several people were told the whereabouts of Potter Manor and Longbottom Manor, though the numbers were kept limited. At each house was a Portkey which could carry the inhabitants to Hogwarts, and another that would bring them to the other couple. The latter were used frequently for visits, allowing Neville and Harry to play together.

Sirius started to get paranoid around Harry's eighth month. He told James and Lily that he was being watched, that he was in danger of being taken by the Death Eaters. James did not want it, but Sirius convinced them to switch Secret Keepers and not tell anyone about the switch. That way, Sirius could be a decoy and the Potters would be safe.

Harry's first word was 'Moony', much the frustration of Lily. Remus was even there when he said it and swept the baby up into a big hug from Uncle Moony. Still, Uncle Moony visited more to see baby Harry than his friends, and was withdrawn around the other Marauders like he had been so many years ago.

The first accidental magic Harry performed was in his eleventh month, much to the surprise of his parents. Lily heard the baby crying and knew it was about time for a feeding, but the crying stopped as she climbed the stairs towards the nursery. She was shocked to find her baby already happily sucking on a bottle of warm milk, and the elves firmly claimed they had nothing to do with it. James could only conclude, and Lily agreed, that Harry had summoned and warmed his own bottle.

His first birthday was a roaring success. The night before there was a party for Neville, attended by the majority of the Order, and then on Harry's birthday there was yet another party. Both boys were starting to walk and they played well together, lapping up all the attention they were getting from the adults. They even, much to the amusement of the Marauders, engaged in a cake fight.

The night of Harry's first birthday the Fidelius Charm was cast again by Peter, though he stumbled the first time and Sirius had to coach him to finish it. Lily started having nightmares around the same time.

It was late September when James was in his study, Lily and Harry both sleeping. He had a box open on his desk and was going through the pictures he stored there, pictures of Severus, of James and Severus, of Lily and Severus, and of all three of them. Lily somehow even managed to take a picture of Severus holding Harry and explained that she snuck out and made Severus promise to look after Harry should something happen.

They knew something was going to happen, and in a way James was tired of waiting. Lily had promised him that Severus could regain his memories on his own, but that Occlumency might have an effect on that.

So James was sitting at his desk preparing to write some letters that would only be read if he died. He put the pictures back in their box and took the chain off from around his neck. On the chain was a single golden ring, Severus's ring. James selected the smallest envelope he could find and slipped the ring inside, then put the envelope in the box. He changed the password to open the box and put it aside.

Five long letters and one short letter of explanation later, all of them thoroughly charmed with spells he had learned from Remus charming their homework so Sirius couldn't cheat, James took the letters and box and made his way to Gringotts. He rode down to the main Potter vault, transfigured a dust cloth into a podium, and put the letters, all in one large envelope, on the podium, addressed simply to _'Padfoot'_. The box he place next to the vault door, just inside the vault.

The more difficult part was warding the vault against entry by anyone without a specific password, one that any of the Marauders could easily guess. James tested it and then paid the goblin escort richly to never divulge anything regarding the ward or the password he may have overheard.

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	65. 64: Halloween 1981

**Chapter Sixty-Four: Halloween, 1981**

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Severus kept himself from running, though he was hard pressed. He had information that needed to get to Albus immediately. The Dark Lord had just held a meeting where he divulged the first half of a prophecy and his plans to make sure the child mentioned, one of two infant wizards, did not survive the night.

He felt sick to the very pit of his being, knowing that any chance the wizarding world might have could very well die that night if he wasn't fast enough.

It was getting late, and something in Severus knew he would be too late to save the child. He had been there when Alice Longbottom and Lily Potter were in labor, and chances were one of them, or more likely both of them would die that night, their husbands and children with them. The Dark Lord was going to eliminate both children just to be safe, though the Potters were first on his list.

A howl from the Forbidden Forest made Severus jump despite himself. It was the night before full moon, and even though the werewolves would not be transformed he had no desire to be outside any longer than absolutely necessary.

He rode the stairs behind the gargoyle to the headmaster's office and burst inside the room without bothering to knock or waiting to be invited in. Minerva gave him a hard look for his rudeness but he ignored her.

"Tonight Albus," Severus panted, out of breath. "He's attacking tonight. He knows where the Potters are. He's known for months apparently."

Albus paled and fell into his chair, "They refreshed the Charm after Harry's party and haven't told us where they are yet. I can't warn them."

"We have to do something!" Minerva nearly shrieked. Potter had always been one of her favorites.

"Fawkes," Albus motioned to his bird, "just had a burning day. He can't go anywhere. We have to find Sirius Black, though I doubt we will be able to. He was here only this morning."

"Why Black?" Severus hissed.

Albus's eyes were entirely devoid of twinkle, "He is their Secret Keeper. Sirius must be our traitor."

The fire in the headmaster's office flared bright green, "ALBUS!"

ooOOoo

The plan was fool proof. It had to be... so why did Sirius feel so uneasy? He told himself over and over again that he had to be right. The deduction had been simple. The traitor had to be one of the Marauders and Sirius knew it was not himself. James could not possibly be a traitor, as his wife and child were targets. Peter simply didn't have the power or imagination... which left Remus.

It must have been a terrible few years for their friend, no job, hounded by the Death Eaters because of what he was. Sirius wondered how long it had taken for Remus to cave, to give in to the pressures. Having grown up with them, Sirius knew the techniques used to sway someone to the side of dark. Realistically Remus was already dark.

Maybe he had just needed a little prod from the Death Eaters, promises of things that the Ministry would never deliver. In a way Sirius didn't blame him... but Sirius had escaped from them, turned his back on the darkness, and he had once thought Remus was stronger than he was.

He shook his head and shut off his mind. It was no time to be thinking about what went wrong in their friendship. Some little part of him wondered what possessed them to even think of so closely befriending a werewolf in the first place.

Sirius had a task to concentrate on though. He checked out of the Auror's office, signing his departure time. Several Ministry employees waved on his way out and he stopped to talk to a few, especially those females with particularly shapely legs. He had been seeing a muggle girl for a bit, one in a long list, but broke it off by the time she started asking questions that might get awkward.

Just as he was apparating away Sirius heard someone call his name. Normally he would have instantly returned to the Ministry, but Peter was expecting him soon and he didn't want his friend worrying. Peter was always a little nervous and twitchy, but he had been more so of late. Sirius understood well. The responsibility of being the Secret Keeper was an immense weight.

Peter's cottage was tucked away in an entirely muggle area. Sirius was there at least twice a week with supplies. Peter didn't go anywhere apart from the Ministry for work, Potter Manor, and his cottage.

He knocked and waited... no answer.

It was alright. Peter might be in the loo, or sleeping, or something of the like. Sirius knocked again, a little louder.

"Peter?" Sirius called out.

He cupped his hands and looked in a window. The room looked just the same as the last time Sirius had seen it. It was a bit messy in that absentminded way Peter had. The smallest Marauder so frequently would just put something down and then spend hours looking for it, never even thinking to use a summoning spell or locator charm.

After five minutes Peter didn't come into sight or answer Sirius's calls or knocks. Some connection sparked in Sirius's brain and his Auror senses kicked into gear. There was something wrong here.

_Alohomora!_

Sirius entered cautiously, careful not to touch anything. He cast a series of scans on the cottage, but found no traps, no Portkeys, and no Peter. Each room was thoroughly examined, and not a sign of life found. It was like Peter hadn't been there for days, since the last time Sirius had stopped in. The magical signature of the resident of the cottage was faded. Peter had not cast a spell inside the cottage in well over forty-eight hours.

With a sinking feeling in his chest reality crashed down on Sirius. He recalled over a dozen conversations where Peter encouraged his suspicions of Remus. He remembered that Peter had given in to switching the Secret Keepers much more readily than Sirius had suspected.

It was a sickening realization. Sirius had been wrong, perhaps deadly wrong. He silently apologized to Remus and knew he had a lot to do to make up for his suspicions.

As though a fire had been lit directly under his feet Sirius jumped into action. He ran outside the cottage, to the edge of the wards, and apparated away. Sirius was the only one that Peter had told the location of Potter Manor. Sirius was the only one who could warn James and Lily that they had possibly been betrayed and maybe get them to safety.

On top of everything it was Halloween, and the Auror Department hated Halloween... because Voldemort loved it.

Sirius went to his flat first, as he couldn't apparate close enough to the Manor. Only James, Lily, and Peter, as the Secret Keeper, could bypass those wards on the property. He shrunk his bike and stuck it in his pocket, then ran again.

At the edge of the Potter wards he felt just a hint of panic edging in on him. There was something in the air, some unnamed dread. The night was overcast and foggy and the light from the nearly full moon would have been welcome. As it was, Sirius could barely see four feet in front of him.

He straddled his bike and kicked it to life, the roar of the engine somewhat reassuring. He rose in the air and headed in the direction he knew to go to find the Manor. Sirius could find Potter Manor drunk and blindfolded, and that ability would come in handy that night.

ooOOoo

Peter blinked his eyes, not believing the sight before him. For as long as he had been alive Potter Manor had stood, a fixed part of his world, unchanging despite the change in occupants.

Then he looked down at his arm and blinked again, shock adding to shock. Where there had once been the ugliest tattoo... no, brand that Peter could even imagine there was unblemished skin. It had disappeared accompanied by enormous pain.

Elation was quickly replaced with fear. There would soon be at the very least two very talented wizards and one sadistic bitch of a witch out for his blood. If Lucius and Belletrix didn't kill him, Sirius would.

His bowels almost gave way. He looked at the house and the shaking started. He thought of the people who had lived there, who had entrusted him with their safety, and he nearly threw up.

When it came down to it, it had been them or him. If Peter hadn't given up his friends he would have been killed. The Dark Lord knew everything.

Not anymore though. A little laugh, with a hint of hysteria, bubbled up and out of Peter. Maybe what he had done was really for the better. There was no way the Dark Lord had survived that light show, the explosion, the collapse of tons of masonry. No one... nothing could live through that. Through his deceit Peter was free.

Or he would have been free... if there weren't two sides of the war both about to be hunting him.

There was only one option left to Peter. The Ministry had ways of tracking apparition, Portkeys, and Floo travel. They could determine who had cast magic in any given area. The animagus transformation was not normal magic though, and they probably wouldn't think to track it.

After all, Dumbledore thought Sirius was the Secret Keeper... and Peter could use that he thought with a bitter, half-crazy laugh. He transformed and ran as quickly as his small little paws could carry him. Peter needed to be far away from Potter Manor and soon. Sirius was probably already at his cottage and the Manor would be his next stop.

ooOOoo

Albus had already ordered the majority of the Order on two separate missions. They were to aid the Ministry in fighting off the reports of attacks that were coming in... and they were to locate Sirius Black and detain him immediately.

Alastor had missed Black by just a few seconds, his stunning spell traveling through empty air just as Black left the Ministry for the night. Alastor was tracking the apparition, but that took time.

He was getting old. His hands were gnarled with the passage of years and he stared at them, resting uneasily on his desk. Albus wanted to be out there and doing anything he could to help, but he was needed where he was, especially as he had sent Minerva out. Hogwarts needed Albus to stay where he was, as did the Ministry and the Order. His fireplace was flaring continually with reports. The attacks were increasing and Black was still missing.

Severus had been forced to his knees in extreme pain, and came out of it with a look of astonishment on his face. His Dark Mark was fading, already almost impossible to see.

Potter Manor... Godric's Hollow... the sudden flash of knowledge made Albus start.

He flicked his wand and sent a silvery phoenix with a message. Moments later Hagrid entered the office. Severus had composed himself.

"Go to Godric's Hollow Hagrid, to Potter Manor," Albus's voice sounded dry and dead even to himself. There was only one reason he could possibly know where Potter Manor was located. The Fidelius Charm was broken. "If there are any survivors bring them here. If Harry is alive..." Albus closed his eyes and thought of the many possibilities, knowing what the Ministry would recommend, knowing what he might have to do for the child's safety. "Just bring them to me Hagrid. You have my permission to use magic to get there."

Hagrid's eyes were wide, but he nodded and left without complaint.

Albus silently cursed Sirius Black.

Severus did the same, but quite vocally.

ooOOoo

A baby cried.

Both wizards, both with tears on their cheeks as they stood by the dead body of a friend, started at the sound and instantly headed towards its source. The larger, having the longer stride, and an easier time negotiating his way through the rubble, was there first. He bent down and straightened, a small bundle in his arms.

Wails came from the tiny bundle, a dirty blue blanket concealing all but a shock of dark hair and a reddened face, smeared blood on the forehead.

"I'm his Godfather Hagrid," Sirius pleaded. "Give him to me."

Hagrid did not hand over the child, but allowed Sirius to try to sooth him, having little effect. The young man kissed the child and spoke to him softly, telling him everything would be okay.

"Please Hagrid," Sirius's eyes were bloodshot and it was all wrong. Hagrid wanted nothing more than to hand over Harry, but he had his orders, and Rubeus Hagrid would never disobey Albus Dumbledore... never.

"I'm sorry Sirius," Hagrid patter the younger man with one enormous hand. "I have me orders. Harry's to go to Dumbledore. Ye can take it up wi' him."

The dark eyes hardened then, changed somehow. Hagrid had seen a look like that before, and shivered at the recollection. Sirius took a deep breath and he nodded. He gently kissed the baby's forehead again and told his Godson 'goodbye'.

"Take my bike Hagrid," Sirius's voice was empty, like his life force had been extracted. "I won't be needing it now." The determined look on his face frightened Hagrid and he wondered what Sirius was planning. The young man just bent again, brushed a hand through the famous Potter hair, "I love you Harry."

The loud 'crack' of apparition echoed through the air and Sirius was gone. Hagrid held Harry in one arm and mounted the bike. He could control it with one hand while the other made sure Harry stayed safe as they flew across the country to Hogwarts.

ooOOoo

There was one thing and one thing only on his mind... revenge.

Sirius knew he was angry not only at Peter for betraying them all, but with himself for giving Peter the means to do so. If only...

There were so many 'if only's. Briefly Sirius considered finding his way into the Department of Mysteries, stealing a time turner, and changing everything that had happened, somehow saving James and Lily.

Remus was innocent, but Sirius wouldn't blame him if he never forgave Sirius. After all, it was Sirius who had suspected Remus to begin with, Sirius who had convinced James to switch to Peter. Sirius might as well have cast the killing curses himself.

He contemplated going to Hogwarts and explaining himself, or going to Remus... but Sirius had no idea where Remus was, where Remus had been living for two years now.

Instead he went to Peter's cottage. He didn't have much time now, as the further away Peter got from him the less likely this would work.

After searching through the misplaced belongings, Sirius found a hairbrush with several strands of hair still caught in the bristles. It would be enough, he thought with a sadistic smile. Sirius took a handful of hairs and went into the living room, where he banished the carpet and knelt on the stone floor.

Sirius dropped the hairs onto the floor. He summoned a knife from the kitchen and dragged it across his palm, letting the blood fall and pool around the hairs. He was for the first time ever thankful for the lessons in dark magic that had been forced on him by his parents. Otherwise, he wouldn't have ever learned this foolproof way to track down another wizard.

He started chanting and the blood started to boil, then it burst into flame, the hairs along with it. He continued to chant until it was burned away, no evidence of the ritual left on the floor.

When Sirius stood he knew where Peter was, could feel him as he moved. He was transformed into his rat form. It was almost smart of him, to flee in a way that couldn't be tracked easily. Peter would not have counted on Sirius using dark magic to track him though.

Sirius apparated right onto a crowded muggle street, secrecy laws be damned. He pointed his wand and a running rat became a running man that tripped over his feet, stood up, and faced Sirius.

There was a maniacal glint in Peter's eyes, insanity that Sirius had never seen before.

"Are you ready to die Peter?" Sirius asked coldly. He didn't care what the outcome was. He was going to kill Peter. The Ministry was likely on its way so he didn't have much time left.

Peter smiled, then shouted, his voice full of pretend anguish, "James and Lily Sirius, how could you?"

Sirius gaped, then saw that Peter's hand was behind his back. _Stupid, stupid, stupid_, Sirius cursed himself. He should have disarmed Peter immediately.

Before he had a chance to speak there was an explosion. Peter made eye contact with Sirius and Sirius saw fear, and triumph. What had twisted Peter into this... thing? Peter produced a knife, cut off his own finger, and transformed into a rat before the dust settled, darting down into the sewers now accessible by the hole in the ground.

"Sirius Black you're under arrest!"

The voice made Sirius stop just as he was about to transform. The last thing he needed was to give his fellow Aurors another charge against him. He tossed his wand to the side, knelt on the ground, and put his hands on his head.

A laugh bubbled up, a hysterical laugh, as the Auror began listing the charges. They thought he was the Secret Keeper. The plan had worked perfectly, but with the wrong side. Sirius continued to laugh. After all those years, all those practical jokes, Peter had finally managed to pull one over on Sirius. Bravo Peter.

ooOOoo

"Sirius wanted me to give 'em 'Arry, but you gave me orders I told 'im," Hagrid was reciting his report.

Albus felt his face grow paler by the moment. He was trying to piece together everything that happened that night, both the things that had gone wrong and those had gone right. From what he could figure, based on Severus's attack, Hagrid's testimony, and Harry Potter's scarred forehead that was still emitting a feeling of dark magic, little Harry had reflected the killing curse on Voldemort and at the very least seriously injured him, possibly even destroyed his body.

The possibilities were horrifying. If Hagrid had not gotten to Potter Manor when he did... if he had succumbed to pity and gave Harry to his godfather...

Albus knew he should have told Hagrid about Sirius Black's betrayal, but he had needed Hagrid to act quickly, and it appeared that he had been right. Every moment had counted.

Severus was out trying to find what had happened. He was contacting other Death Eaters to get reports, to hopefully find someone who had been at Godric's Hollow that night and could give them more than just speculation.

His fireplace flared again.

"Yes?" Albus asked wearily. He hadn't slept in a long time, and would not sleep any time soon. He needed to go the infirmary and check on Harry. Remus would doubtless be in his office demanding answers soon. Albus flinched internally... what could he possibly tell him? James, Lily, and Sirius were pack. This business could kill yet another wizard.

"We got him Albus, simply reeking of dark magic," Alastor looked shaken, and well he might be. Sirius Black had become something of a protégé to him. "But that's not all."

"What Alastor?" Albus looked at his good friend sharply.

"He managed to kill a bunch of muggles before we took him... and one wizard," Alastor sighed heavily and shook his head. "We all saw it."

"Who?"

Albus dreaded the answer, not sure he actually wanted to hear.

"Peter Pettigrew."

He closed his eyes and knew that Alastor had left. How was he going to tell Remus? Albus knew he had to be the one to tell the young werewolf, and he had to make sure there were others there to restrain him. Hagrid was blowing his nose into a large handkerchief and weeping.

Albus sent several silvery phoenixes out from his wand. He then wrote out a message and requested that Fawkes take it the Flamels. They needed to make sure that Remus didn't hear the news before Albus told him.

It was almost breakfast time in the great hall, and Albus would have to be there, would need to make several announcements before the _Daily Prophet_ arrived. He told Hagrid to stay in his office and keep Remus there when he arrived with Fawkes.

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	66. 65: Aftermath

**Chapter Sixty-Five: Aftermath**

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Alastor Moody was not having a good day, never mind that it was not really day... or was it now. He had been awake far too long, tracking down one of his best students ever. Luckily for Alastor, Sirius had apparated around almost carelessly, not covering his tracks in any way, completely disregarding his training. Alastor had traced him from the Ministry to Pettigrew's cottage, to Black's apartment, to Godric's Hollow, back to Pettigrew's cottage, which was full of dark magic by then, and finally to a muggle street full of dead muggles, shocked muggles, and the end of his trail.

Sirius had been laughing. It had wrenched Alastor's gut. He flinched when one of the young Auror's with him yelled out that Sirius was under arrest. The last thing they needed was for Sirius to fight them.

But he hadn't. He just tossed aside his wand and submitted to the Aurors, laughing all the while, tears cascading down his face. He didn't answer any questions, and Alastor couldn't help but question his sanity. It hurt to do it, but Alastor had stunned him, and motioned to the others to bind him and take him to the Ministry. Alastor had to contact Albus.

Of all the Marauders, as four boys had named themselves, Alastor had grown close to three of them – Sirius, James, and Remus. He barely knew Peter, aside from knowing that Peter was in the outer circles of the Order and worked in the Floo Regulatory Department.

James, of course, he had known because of his father. Alastor had known James the boy's entire life. It was still hard to believe that he was grown, married, and had a child of his own. It was even harder to accept that the child was now an orphan.

Sirius had been his student, a most promising student. He would have risen high in the Auror ranks, and Alastor couldn't figure out where the boy had gone wrong, or if he had been dark all along and perpetrating the best ruse Alastor had ever seen, ingratiating himself into the Potter family, the Order. If that was so he couldn't help but be impressed, and to wonder why he was still alive. Black had many chances to kill Alastor and make it seem like a Death Eater attack. Why had he been spared?

Alastor arrived at Hogwarts, under orders from the Ministry to question Albus and Minerva and find out whatever he could about Black. He limped through the gates, still not quite used to this fake leg of his. He could fight again, thank Merlin, but his movement was impeded. If it weren't for the lack of Aurors Alastor had no doubt he would have been forcibly retired.

As it was, he was considering leaving the Ministry soon. He did not like the recent appointees that headed the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Barty Crouch, the current Head, wanted nothing more than to further his own career. As Alastor had been leaving the Ministry after Black's capture he heard that Sirius was not even getting a trial. They were sending him to the dementors and throwing away the key.

It was not that Alastor thought Sirius was innocent. Albus himself told Alastor that Sirius was the Potters' Secret Keeper... but the way Sirius was acting. He could be under Imperious... or may have been tortured... and no one was bothering to find out.

The castle loomed above him and Alastor wiped a weary hand over his face, feeling the stubble of beard growth that he just hadn't had the time to charm away yet. It would be at least another few hours still before he would have a chance to breathe, or get a bite to eat, never mind shave or change into clean robes. What he wouldn't give for a dip in one of Albus's charmed tubs...

Students were celebrating in the corridors, but they sobered quickly and stepped to the side as they heard the _thump, step, thump, step_ that heralded Alastor's arrival. They gave him curious looks, identifying him as an Auror immediately. A few Gryffindors grinned at him, or even applauded.

Alastor frowned and glared in response. Any student who tried to touch him, whether to shake his hand or give him a pat on the back, found a wand in their face. He was in no mood for celebrations. He had half a mind to apparate to Dedalus's house and hit the man over the head, putting a stop to those ridiculous fireworks.

Didn't these people know that James and Lily and Peter were dead? Did any of them care? Alastor knew several others who would certainly not be up for celebrating that day.

"Phoenix feathers," Alastor grumbled at the gargoyle statue outside of Albus's office, his hand pressed to its forehead. He shivered as the magical scan washed over him. Albus's security measures always made him uncomfortable.

He rode the stairs up to Albus's office, and the gargoyle nearly closed before another form slipped onto the stairs. Alastor's wand was out and pointed again, but he tucked it away when he saw a face he had not seen in a few months.

"Frank," Alastor nodded, "what are you doing here lad?"

Frank ducked his head and shook it, "I went to the Ministry as soon as we heard, trying to find out if it was true. _Crouch_," Frank spat the name like it was a bitter in his mouth, "decided I was on active duty again and sent me to find Remus."

"What does he want with Remus?" Alastor narrowed his eyes. He knew what he had been taught about werewolves, and he knew Remus Lupin, and the two contradicted each other strongly.

Frank grimaced, "He's the only one of them left. Sirius hasn't stopped laughing for more than an hour or so at a time, and then he starts up again. I don't get it."

"Which part," Alastor snorted.

"Sirius," Frank closed his eyes tightly, as if in pain. He had grown up with James and Peter, shared a tutor with them, and Alice was Lily's best friend. "Until today I would have sworn on my father's grave that Sirius would die before he betrayed James."

"As would I," Alastor agreed. "We may never know why lad."

They reached the door and Albus told them to enter. Hagrid was inside already, by the sound of it. No one else made such a loud noise when blowing their nose.

"Alastor good," Albus nodded and spotted Frank behind him. "Why have you come Frank?"

"Crouch wants Remus in for questioning," Frank said plainly, but his distaste was evident. "No one can get a word out of Sirius, and Remus is the only one left who's close to him."

"It's a full moon tonight," Albus frowned at Frank and Alastor felt sympathy for the young man.

Frank nodded his head, "It's just some questions. If he cooperates he should be out of there quickly enough."

Albus sighed and shook his head sadly, "Remus is on his way here. He doesn't know yet."

Alastor saw Frank's head snap up the same as his did, "Excuse me Albus?"

"Do you think he should read it in the _Prophet_?" Albus said harshly, and Alastor felt a trace of guilt for questioning his friend. "Our friends would not be able to restrain him should he react poorly."

"Should he...?" Frank snarled. "How do you expect him to react?"

There was a flash of fire and Fawkes appeared in the office, resting on the shoulder of Remus Lupin. Remus looked... not tired... but maybe like an old man whose joints ached without relief. He blinked and looked around the room, showing a touch of surprise to see Frank there.

"Albus...," Remus started, then cleared his throat. "What's so important that you sent Fawkes for me?"

Remus glanced back to Hagrid more than once. The half-giant was bound to give them away. He was still crying and blowing his nose. Remus sniffed a bit and his whole body tensed.

"Why do I smell Harry? Why is Hagrid crying?"

Frank's eyes widened. Alastor realized that the younger Auror hadn't spent much time with Remus, at least not after they graduated from Hogwarts and Frank found out what Remus was. He was not used to such blatant references to Remus's enhanced senses.

"Remus...," Albus began, but he needed go no further. Remus's jaw clenched and his eyes flashed golden. His breathing got faster and sharper.

"No Albus... please no," Remus shook his head as if denying what he concluded.

No one ever claimed Remus Lupin was stupid. Quite the contrary, Alastor had heard that the boy was a genius, and seen quite a bit of supporting evidence himself.

"I'm sorry Remus. Voldemort attacked Godric's Hollow," Albus was speaking in a low, soothing tone, but his knuckles were white where his right hand gripped his wand. "Sirius was their Secret Keeper. James and Lily are dead. Peter tracked down Sirius, and Sirius killed him."

Remus jumped up from his chair and Alastor nudged Frank. They both drew out their wands and held them ready. Hagrid stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Remus, holding him to his chest.

"No," Remus was yelling, struggling in Hagrid's arms. Alastor felt tears coming to his eyes. The boy's entire pack was gone from him, all in just one night. "They're not dead. They can't be!"

Hagrid was having trouble holding onto the thrashing werewolf, and Alastor was amazed. No one really knew just how strong werewolves were, as they did not lend themselves to study willingly. Remus was making Hagrid sweat though, and Alastor had no doubt that he would break free before long.

"Let me go Hagrid!" Remus screamed, stopping only short of biting Hagrid's arms. The boy still had at least a little measure of control left. "I'm going to kill him. I'll fucking kill him. I should have last time. Sirius is no longer pack. He is exiled, under sentence of death."

Albus turned to Alastor and nodded, and Alastor gave Frank a hand signal. Together they aimed their wands.

_Stupefy!_

"Again, and harder."

_STUPEFY!_

Remus went limp in Hagrid's arms and Hagrid sagged just a bit. He scooped up Remus and cradled him, "Boy's too ligh' ta be so strong."

Frank wiped his forehead and gave a little bitter laugh, "They expect me to bring him in on my own?"

Alastor gave the younger Auror a wry grin, "The Ministry doesn't know. If they did, Remus would already have a cell right next to Sirius."

"Albus?" Frank looked at the headmaster hopefully. "He has to come and answer questions. If he runs they'll issue a warrant. He could never come back to Britain."

"Do not worry Frank," Albus reassured him. "Remus will go with you willingly."

Frank looked doubtful, but nodded and stepped back while Hagrid put Remus in a chair and Albus stood in front of the stunned werewolf. He held his wand pointed at Remus and no more than whispered the spell to revive him.

Remus took in a deep breath and gave Albus the most heartbreaking look of defeat and pain that Alastor had ever seen. Albus lowered his wand and took Remus in his arms, hugging him tightly, as Remus sobbed, his entire body shaking.

"Remus, Remus," Albus rocked back and forth, and began speaking in French. Alastor didn't understand a word, but it managed to calm Remus. "Would you like to see Harry?"

Remus's head snapped up and his eyes widened, "He's alive? My cub survived?"

Again, Frank's eyes went wide. Alastor shook his head. How did the boy manage to become such a good Auror and know so little about werewolves? James was pack, which made little Harry Potter the closest thing to a child Remus Lupin would ever have.

"He is with Poppy," Albus told Remus, new, hopeful light entering the hazel eyes.

"Please Albus," Remus pleaded, ignoring all the others in the room.

Albus nodded to Hagrid, who gave Remus a doubtful look before leaving the office.

"He is going to Lily's sister tonight Remus," Albus explained and Alastor saw Frank grimace again. "It is the safest place for him, as I suspect Lily gave her life to save Harry's."

"She's horrible Albus," Remus's eyes brightened again, more tears ready to fall. "She hates Lily, hates anything to do with magic. You saw her at the wedding."

"Her blood will keep Harry safe."

Remus backed down much more readily than Alastor expected. He knew that Remus had been studying with the Flamels, and that Ellie was probably the world's foremost authority on wards and ancient rituals. If anyone would understand the significance of blood in a protection spell it would be Ellie and her newest pupil.

"He's sleeping again," Hagrid entered the office again with a bundle that looked impossibly small in his arms.

The bundle was immediately snatched out of his arms by Remus, who had perked up even before Hagrid entered. Remus nuzzled the child and whispered to him, so quietly that Alastor could not hear what he said.

"What will you do now Remus?" Alastor asked, knowing that with Voldemort gone, with the war over, Remus no longer had work.

"I don't know," Remus's voice was back to its usual gentle quality. He held Harry Potter close to his chest and swayed his body just a bit.

Frank looked to Albus, who nodded, "The Ministry wants to ask you a few questions Remus. You'll be out of there before sunset..."

"It's moonrise that's important Frank," Remus lifted an eyebrow but nodded. "Best we get this done quickly. You'll watch over him Albus?"

Albus nodded, and Remus kissed Harry's forehead. The child stirred, and his emerald eyes blinked open. He smiled upon seeing Remus's face, "Moony!"

"Cub," Remus rubbed their noses together, and handed Harry to Albus. "I have to go now Cub. I love you."

Harry smiled and patted Remus's face. Remus kissed the top of his head once more, teary eyed again, and turned to Frank, "Let's get this over with."

Frank nodded, and led Remus out the door.

"Now," Albus turned to Alastor as he gave Harry back to Hagrid. Alastor watched the newly dubbed Boy-Who-Lived, as the early edition of the _Prophet_ had named him, and sighed. That boy had a tough life ahead of him. "I believe you have some questions for me."

Alastor nodded, "and Minerva."

Albus lit his fire and called for his Deputy Headmistress, who was nowhere to be found. Alastor lifted his eyebrows as Albus frowned. They tried again after Albus had told him several stories about Sirius Black, some of them a bit disturbing. Alastor wished Albus had mentioned the incident with the Snape boy and the Shrieking Shack earlier... maybe before Black started training as an Auror.

It was early afternoon when Alastor made it back to the Ministry, only to find a distraught Frank Longbottom and several worried looking Aurors.

"Thank Merlin Alastor," Frank rushed towards him. "You have to get down there. Crouch won't listen to me."

"Slow down lad," Alastor didn't like the feeling he was getting from the room. It was too tense. There were a good number of Aurors out hunting down the remaining Death Eaters, and a team scouring every inch of Godric's Hollow, but those in the office were extremely uncomfortable. "Tell me what's going on."

Frank sucked in a steadying breath, "They're trying to beat a confession out of him. Crouch is convinced that Remus was in league with Sirius."

His jaw tightened, his teeth clenched. Alastor felt anger rising deep inside him. It was about time he got angry. Suddenly the events of the past thirty-odd hours piled up and fueled his anger. He'd had enough of Crouch, throwing prisoners in Azkaban without trials, allowing use of the Unforgivables – encouraging it even!

"Show me where," Alastor growled, gripping his wand firmly.

Several Aurors followed them down the stairs, and Alastor cursed his peg leg more than once. It was bloody useless on stairs. Crouch was holding Remus in one of the interrogation rooms behind the courtrooms on the lowest floor of the Ministry, lower than the lifts traveled.

Alastor flung the door and stepped in the room as Crouch was saying, "Revive him again."

_Stupefy!_

The other Auror in there with Crouch, a man Alastor had never liked, fell to the ground next to their unconscious 'guest'.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing Barty?" Alastor growled, his wand still out.

"He's Sirius Black's best friend!" Crouch defended himself with a superior air.

Alastor was disgusted, "He was also James Potter's best friend. The man lost everyone he had last night. You could have talked to me first Barty. I know Remus."

"He refuses to even tell us where he lives!" Crouch argued. The Aurors behind them exchanged glances.

"That's because he can't you imbecile!" Alastor snapped, sparks shooting out of his wand. Crouch backed up just a bit. He was a political appointee, not an Auror, and would not survive a duel with a veteran Auror like Alastor. "The home he lives in is under the Fidelius Charm."

"What is this Charm?" Crouch snapped back. "All I've heard since last night is Fidelius Charm this, and Secret Keeper that. I'm the Head of Magical Law Enforcement. I should know these things."

Alastor sneered. There were many things Crouch should know that he didn't, "It's a protection charm Barty, but the person who could explain it best is unconscious behind you, his face nearly unrecognizable under all those bruises."

"Huh?" Barty Crouch finally showed his confusion.

"Try finding out the right questions to ask before you brutalize your subjects Barty," Alastor snorted. "I can assure you that Remus Lupin is innocent of whatever ridiculous charges you've come up with. Now, I'm taking him with me."

Alastor limped over to Remus and knelt next to him with difficulty. He assessed his condition and found it wasn't as bad as he suspected. Remus shouldn't have passed out from a beating like that. It had to have something to do with the full moon that night.

"You will report to my office within the hour Auror Moody!" Crouch demanded. "This is gross misconduct."

"I haven't even begun," Alastor glared at his boss. He took a handkerchief out of Remus's pocket and turned it into a Portkey. There was only one place he knew that was entirely safe for Remus at that point. There was a pulling sensation behind his navel and the Ministry disappeared.

"Alastor?"

He looked up and saw Joseph standing over him. Alastor wondered what had come over him the past few years. There was a time when he would have sworn he'd never associate with 'dark creatures'. Then Albus had him working with Remus, and Remus introduced him to Joseph, and suddenly Alastor was friends with a werewolf _and_ a vampire.

"The Ministry did this to him, and they don't even know what he is," Alastor grunted. He revived Remus, and the boy sprang up, breathing harshly and ready to fight.

Joseph put a calming hand on his shoulder and Remus tensed, then seemed to shrink in on himself when he saw who it was. Alastor stepped towards Remus, but Remus stepped back. His normally warm hazel eyes were empty, cold.

"Leave Alastor," Remus said in a harsh whisper. "I never want to see another wizard or witch again."

Alastor opened his mouth as if to protest, but bowed his head and nodded. He looked to Joseph, who tightened his hold on Remus and nodded to Alastor. Nothing else left to do, Alastor apparated back to the Ministry, though it required two stops. He stalked up to Crouch's office, just as angry as he had been when he interrupted the interrogation.

"You were out of line Auror Moody," Barty Crouch said loftily from behind the safety of his desk. "I have written an official reprimand..."

"Don't bother," Alastor snarled. He'd had enough. "I am retired as of the end of this work day. You disgust me Barty. Just give me Remus's wand, and I'll clear out my desk."

Crouch smirked, probably glad to be rid of him. He'd even forget about that reprimand if he never had to worry about Alastor interfering again. He handed over the wand and Alastor snatched it away before spinning on his peg and stamping away.

Alastor would testify at the trials that were sure to come, and he'd even leave his name on the call list if there was trouble again, but he would never work for a fool like Barty Crouch again. All his questions about Sirius had faded, eclipsed by his concern for Remus and his anger at Barty.

As Alastor Moody left the Auror Department he didn't look back. The Aurors were silent as they watched him go, his anger still high. Many of them saluted as he walked away. Over three-quarters of the Aurors left had trained under Alastor Moody and they were disappointed to see him go.

The office was mostly quiet for the remainder of the day. There was no celebrating in the Auror Department. They had lost two of their own the night before, what they hoped were the final two in the war. There would be Memorials to attend, and a little boy to protect.

None of them knew that they would not be allowed to aid in the protection of the child who had done what none of them could.

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	67. 66: The Trial for a Traitor

**Chapter Sixty-Six: The Trial for a Traitor**

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Severus was in Albus's office when he received a letter from Fawkes, and thought it odd that the headmaster's phoenix was delivering post. It had to be an important letter for Fawkes to carry it, but Albus did not ask Severus to leave. He just held up a hand to pause their conversation.

Albus's face turned a shade paler, and his eyes hardened. He rolled up the parchment though and tucked it into a desk drawer. The headmaster looked up at Severus and Severus realized he couldn't remember the last time he had seen the old man's eyes twinkle in that annoying way he had. It was only a week after Halloween, a week after the Dark Lord had disappeared, presumed dead, a week after the Potter boy was hailed as the savior of the world.

Only a Potter could achieve fame and glory just by living. From what Severus understood it was the boy's mother who was responsible, who had shielded her child with her love and provided him protection against the killing curse.

"Severus," Albus's voice was grave.

"Yes?" Severus broke out of his thoughts.

"The Wizengamot has been holding trials for all the captured Death Eaters," Albus told him. Severus nodded, he already knew this. "You name was mentioned by more than one prisoner looking to buy their freedom at the price of another's."

He had wondered how long it would take. Severus knew that Albus could not protect him forever. He had killed and tortured, and even enjoyed it, until he found he could no longer stand the blood and pain. Severus had somehow, and he could not remember exactly how, convinced Potter that he was trustworthy, and Potter had vouched for him to Albus.

It must have been the life debt. Such a thing connected two wizards whether they wanted it or not. However it was done, Albus gave Severus another chance, a job, and his trust.

Severus had responded in kind, and put his life in the headmaster's hands. It was time though, that he paid for his crimes.

"I'm being tried before the Wizengamot," Severus said emotionlessly. It was inevitable really. He could afford to buy his way out of this, like Lucius had, but he didn't have the connections or charisma that Lucius had. No... Severus Snape was a loner, a bitter, snarky bastard. He'd need more than bribes to stay out of Azkaban.

Part of him acknowledged that he deserved it, deserved to be locked away with the dementors. He smirked. Maybe he could get a cell close to Black, where he could hear the traitor (the irony of him referring to Black as such was fully appreciated) screaming when the dementors were near. "Where are the Aurors?"

"There will be no Aurors," Albus said plainly. _That_ got Severus's attention. "I have assured my colleagues that you will appear for your trial and need not be held until then. You will have a closed trial, and be questioned by the Wizengamot only under truth serum. The record of your trial will be sealed until ten years after your death."

He couldn't respond. Severus knew that Albus trusted him, that the headmaster had promised to protect Severus in return for his spying on the Dark Lord's Inner Circle, but he had not expected that much protection.

"When?" Severus finally managed to ask.

Albus checked a parchment on his desk, "You have one week. Your trial will be on fifteenth of November at nine in the evening."

Severus raised his eyebrows. Setting a trial for nighttime had to be an attempt to avoid notice by the press. The Wizengamot was meeting at all times recently, busy with trials and adjusting the laws to reflect the end of the war.

"Now," Albus smiled, though his smile was not as bright as it once was. He held out his tin of lemon drops and Severus refused, as always. "Professor Spectre is retiring and I will need a new Head of Slytherin House."

Severus blinked once but did not show his astonishment. Albus had to be certain that Severus would not be convicted. He left the headmaster's office in a bit of a daze. Not only had he survived, his bare forearm a daily reminder that his master was gone, but he was in a highly enviable position. He was a Professor at Hogwarts, and the standards for such were high, and at the start of the next school year he would be a Head of House, the youngest ever.

It was a strange week for Severus. He had gone to Malfoy Manor on Halloween to see if Lucius knew anything. Lucius had told him that the Order's traitor, by which he had to mean Black, was the only one who had been with the Dark Lord. The last Severus heard the Aurors still couldn't get a word out of him.

Severus felt vindicated. He had known Black was a murdering bastard when they were fifteen and he had been proved correct. Black was in Azkaban and Severus was free... and it looked like he would remain free. That thought alone brought a smirk to Severus's face every night as he went to bed.

He walked around Hogwarts smugly. He even took fewer points off the Gryffindors, who were all either in mourning for their fallen heroes or horrified that one of their own had turned on them. They generally rationalized that he was a _Black_ and should have therefore been in Slytherin.

Whenever he heard that, Severus stepped up his point deductions again. Just the thought of having Black in Slytherin with him, sharing a bedroom with him disgusted Severus.

As the weekend approached preparations were made to hold a Memorial for James and Lily Potter on Hogwarts grounds. It was the only place large enough to accommodate the sheer number of wizards and witches that were sure to attend. Severus scowled through staff meetings and made a mental note to lock himself in his dungeons for the duration of that day.

He was having some trouble adjusting. Severus found he was constantly expecting his arm to burn, summoning him to the Dark Lord's side. He kept his quarters as heavily warded as always and peered into shadows. He continued to stalk the corridors of the school at night, looking for troublemakers and students that might be Marked.

The staff had scoffed at him until it was discovered that Regulus Black had been Marked when he was sixteen. He was killed by his fellow Death Eaters for trying to back out just over a year later, only weeks before his older brother handed the Potters to the Dark Lord.

Life was full of irony.

Life without the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord was strange. Severus found he need not fear for his life on a daily basis. He stayed in contact with a few other Death Eaters at Albus's urging. The headmaster was convinced that the Dark Lord was not permanently defeated and the thought that he might return sent a shiver down Severus's spine. He obeyed Albus though. He owed the man his life.

Severus did not know why, but on the day of the Memorial for James and Lily Potter he wrapped himself in a large cloak, the hood pulled up to hide his face, and standing outside on the grounds, listened to Albus talk about his surrogate grandson and his wife.

The crowd was enormous and Severus sneered. Less than half the people there would have ever met the Potters and the majority of them were acting as though they had lost their best friend. Speaking of...

Severus searched the crowd, expecting to see the werewolf in all his misery, surrounded by a crowd of weeping Gryffindors.

He was nowhere to be seen though. Severus would have spotted and identified Lupin anywhere. He had made a career in his days as a student at first spying on, then trying his best to avoid the Marauders. Lupin, the tallest of them, was easy to spot with his sandy hair and hazel eyes. Severus could not see him though, and none of the anonymous figures, cloaked like he was, were of the right build.

It was not the day after the full moon, nor the day before. Lupin did not have that excuse.

Pathetic, Severus sneered again. Lupin was probably at home, wherever that was, too distraught to attend. Poor little werewolf.

Albus continued speaking, saying something about how James Potter had love to spare and Severus contained the snort that threatened. Sure, James Potter had love for anyone who wasn't a Slytherin. Actually, if the rumors Severus had heard when they were students were correct, Potter had love for _everyone_ who wasn't a Slytherin. He wondered how many people in the crowd had been fucked by Albus's precious Potter, and whether or not Albus knew.

The Memorial continued, and Albus asked everyone to bow their heads for a moment to reflect on the departed. Severus did, if only to avoid drawing attention to himself. It was bad enough that he was cloaked and standing rather than sitting. He was not going to be the focus of any questions about his _classmates_.

The faces of James Potter and Lily Potter flashed before his eyes. A pain ripped through his chest then, and Severus fought against showing it. He stopped his hand from clutching at his chest. He was too young to be having a heart attack. Severus was not even thirty yet. Hell, he wasn't twenty-five.

It passed almost as quickly as it had come, and Severus resolved to make himself a draught when he returned to his laboratory. He was not about to let Poppy Pomfrey anywhere near his heart with her wand. She had been irritating enough as it was whenever he came back from the Dark Lord after being cursed for some failure or another.

The days passed before his trial. Severus had detentions to oversee, essays to correct, classes to teach, and Gryffindors to berate. There had been a little thrill in starting to teach when he did. Some of the Gryffindors that had still been students had been among those who followed the Marauders around and laughed at Severus when they tormented him. Making their lives just a little more difficult, a little more miserable, was satisfying indeed.

Severus met Albus in his office on the fifteenth of November just after dinner. They would travel to the Ministry by Portkey, meet the Wizengamot, and if Albus was correct they would be back before curfew.

The little nagging question that had been prickling in the back of Severus's mind came forward then, "Where was Lupin?"

"Excuse me?" Albus gave Severus a curious look.

"He wasn't at the Memorial," Severus frowned. There hadn't even been mention of Lupin in the _Prophet_ beyond listing him as one of James Potter's Hogwarts roommates.

"Remus is gone," Albus said in a tone that did not encourage furthering the conversation.

Severus had always been incredibly curious though, part of what made him a successful spy. When he had hint of mystery he never let go. Some might have though that his experience in the Shrieking Shack would have cured him of his insatiable curiosity, but Severus had, if anything, gotten worse.

"Gone?"

"Yes," Albus was growing irritated. Most would not know it, but Severus made sure he studied the headmaster's moods carefully. "Gone. He is no longer in the wizarding world. Leave it alone Severus."

A thought flashed through his mind that getting Albus irritated with him just before they went to the Ministry for his trial was not the wisest move, but Severus knew that Albus was not a petty man. He would not let momentary irritation condemn a man to the closest thing to hell on earth that existed.

Severus put thoughts of Lupin out his head. What did he care about the werewolf? He was apparently out of Severus's hair for good, and good riddance.

The Wizengamot was all in their official robes and seated on their raised platform. Severus was put in the defendant's chair and he sat stiffly, eyes on the chains that twitched next to him, as if they longed to wrap around him and bind him in place.

"Severus Snape," it was not Albus that spoke. Severus did not recognize the voice at all. "You have been named as a Death Eater in proceedings of this court and are present today, the fifteenth of November, to defend yourself. You have been accused of joining the Death Eaters, casting the Unforgivable Curses on fellow humans, torture, murder, and passing information to the Dark Lord. Do you submit to questioning under truth serum?"

"Yes."

One of the wizards stepped down from the bench and held a vial out to Severus. He took it and inspected it first. He smelled it first, and inspected the viscosity and color. Finally he dipped his finger and tasted just a bit. It had a hint of ginger and would burn a bit as it was swallowed. He ignored the looks he was generating. These people had to know he was a Potions Master. Severus was not about to take any potion that he did not identify first. He made a mental note to work on perfecting a truth serum that was odorless, colorless, and tasteless.

It was the strongest truth serum available and it had no known antidote. It could be fought, but the effort on the part of the drinker would be obvious. Severus had been lucky that the Dark Lord was overconfident in his skills as a Legilimens and did not use truth serums. He drank the apple green liquid and felt his mind start to swim a bit.

The same voice continued, "How do you plead to joining the Death Eaters?"

"Guilty," Severus responded emotionlessly.

There was murmuring in the rows of wizards and witches before him.

"Casting the Imperious Curse on fellow humans?"

"Guilty"

"Casting the Cruciatus Curse on fellow humans?"

"Guilty."

"Casting the Killing Curse on fellow humans?"

"Guilty."

"Torture?"

"Guilty."

"Murder?"

"Guilty."

"Spying?"

"On whom?"

The questioner ruffled through his papers and the murmuring continued. Several of the members of the court were scowling at Severus and he did his best to remain with a completely neutral expression. If he could face the Dark Lord and fool him, he could hide his emotion from these nameless wizards and witches.

"How do plead on the charge of spying on the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the Dark Lord?"

It had been part of his role as a spy, though everything he passed on was what Albus told him, "Guilty."

The murmuring grew and Albus leaned forward, his expression stern, "I believe some clarification is in order. Mr. Snape, please tell the court why you joined the Death Eaters."

"I had no choice. I lived with my uncle, who was a loyal Death Eater, and I had no means of leaving Snape Manor. I knew before I entered Hogwarts my first year that I would be Marked when I was of age."

"Why did you come to my office with James Potter and Lily Evans in June of 1979?"

"I was looking for a way to leave the service of the Dark Lord."

The murmuring increased in volume and Albus held up his hand. The murmuring instantly died down.

"Did you leave Voldemort's service?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I entered your service as a spy. I did not trust the Ministry. The Dark Lord had too many of his own spies there. I would have been killed the instant I turned to them."

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Albus addressed the Wizengamot. "I attest that Severus Snape has risked his life for the past three years to bring me information on Voldemort's plans and movements and saved many lives in the process. I am of the belief that he has atoned for his sins."

The wizards and witches all turned in to discuss his case and Severus felt a mild sweat break out. He could almost feel the chains rising up to bind him, no matter what assurances Albus had given him.

They turned back and the first wizard to address him did so again, "Severus Snape, you have pleaded guilty to the charges laid upon you by this court. We find, however, that the circumstances following these crimes warrant lenience in your case. You are sentenced with five years probation under the supervision of Albus Dumbledore. During that time you will remain an employee of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. If you are found engaging in dark magic of any kind during that period you will be sent to Azkaban."

The wizard turned and addressed the court, "None shall speak of this trial or the information from it under penalty of dementor's kiss."

They began to stand and file out of the room and Severus just blinked after them. That was it. He was free. They hadn't even questioned him to get names of other Death Eaters and details of their crimes. The _Daily Prophet_ had given details of other trials, and they had been long drawn out processes with extensive questioning.

One stopped by Albus on his way out and Severus recognized the gruff tones of Alastor Moody, "Are you sure you can trust him?"

"Implicitly Alastor," was the reply.

The Auror shot Severus a suspicious look as Albus stepped down and stood beside him, silent and waiting. Severus waited for the room to empty.

"You spoke with them first."

"Of course I did," Albus replied. He leaned down and tilted Severus's chin up. "I did not lie Severus. In my eyes you have been absolved. You saved many lives with the information you passed to me. Come, let us go home."

Home. It was an interesting word. When Severus's uncle had died earlier that year in a raid Severus had razed Snape Manor to the ground after securing the majority of the books, portraits, valuables, and some of the furniture in the Snape Family Vault. There had been something cathartic about standing on the grounds, watching the Manor burn. The Manor had never been a home. Truthfully, Hogwarts was the only place Severus could remember, the house of his parents too distant a memory, that could qualify as home.

Severus stood from his chair and grasped the Portkey that Albus held out, headed home.

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	68. 67: Charlie's Animals

**Chapter Sixty-Seven: Charlie's Animals**

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There were seven of them at the breakfast table, though Ginny, the youngest and the only girl, was still an infant feeding from their mother's breast. Their father had already gone off to work at the Ministry by the time the family owl brought in the morning post.

Errol was still a very young owl, only a year or so old. He had still been in the nest when Charlie found him, his siblings dead from starvation, their mother nowhere to be found. Charlie had taken off his shirt, scooped up the baby owl, and wrapped him in the worn cotton for warmth. He brought the owl home and nursed him back to health.

Post owls were normally bred for that purpose and trained by skilled wizards to carry letters and packages. Charlie had assumed the responsibility himself and trained Errol, named by his mother, to carry post for his family.

He was not the only owl to fly into the Burrow, as the Weasleys had named their home, that morning. Two other owls accompanied Errol. One carried the _Daily Prophet_ and _Witch Weekly_ and headed straight for Mrs. Weasley, who gave the owl a few coins and sent it on its way. The third owl flew towards Bill, or William, the eldest, to the extreme jealousy of the other Weasley children (those old enough to understand what the letter was anyway).

"Can we go..."

"...with you Bill?"

"Please!"

"Please!"

"Please!"

"Please!"

"Please!"

"Fred! George!" Mrs. Weasley finally snapped at the four year old identical twin brothers. "Stop pestering your brother. You are too young to go to Hogwarts."

"Mum!" The twins whined in unison, elongating the vowel sound.

"That's enough out of you two," Mrs. Weasley repositioned her only daughter, who was starting to fuss, and spread out the _Daily Prophet_ in front of her. "Finish your breakfast."

At the age of four the twins had already learned how to gauge their mother's moods, and knew she near boiling point. So they obeyed her, and went back to their eggs and toast, bacon long gone. Charlie leaned over to his only big brother to look at the letter with him. Percy, who was six that year, did his best not to appear interested but failed miserably.

Charlie was just as eager as the twins to get his own Hogwarts letter, but he only had a year to wait, whereas the twins had to wait another seven years, and Percy had five years left. Bill had only barely glanced at the first letter, as it was nearly identical to the letter from year before.

The interesting part was his supply list, seeing what books he would use in his classes. He needed fifteen new books and probably new robes too. Bill was growing fast, already taller than their mother and getting close to their father's height.

"When can we go to Diagon Alley Mum?" Bill asked eagerly.

Charlie knew he would barely see his brother for days after the trip to Diagon Alley. Bill would be pouring over his new books, excited for the new school year to start. He had come home from Hogwarts that summer with dozens of tales for Charlie, Percy, Fred, and George, though most were just for Charlie, who had listened attentively.

When Bill had tried to teach Charlie everything he had learned though, Charlie had lost interest. He would much rather spend his time outside than inside and there were only so many hours he could spend sitting and listening to Bill. His gaze would first wander to the window, then fix there, then Bill would give up and Charlie would dash outside.

Within the Weasley family there were little groups of a sort. As the two oldest, Bill and Charlie were occasionally put in charge of their younger siblings. They knew how to change diapers and prepare baby food. They also knew how to work together and hide from their mother, especially useful when the twins had been in diapers. Bill and Charlie were not much alike, but they were a team.

Percy preferred to be alone, to look at first his picture books, and then books for older children. He had taught himself how to read, and only weeks ago had stunned the Weasley parents by reading an article in the _Daily Prophet_ and understanding what it was he was reading.

The twins... well... they were twins. They were sneaky and mischievous, even at only four years old. As soon as they started talking they started finishing each others' sentences. They had their own twin language of primarily looks and gestures, but it was enough for them to understand each other. They frequently harassed Percy, as he did not usually fight back.

Charlie guessed that Ron and Ginny, who were after all only a year apart, would be close, thrown together without many other options.

"We can go later today dear," Mrs. Weasley gave her six older children an assessing look. "Charlie, will you look after the twins and Ron while the rest of us are buying Bill's school things?"

"Sure Mum," Charlie agreed readily. His three youngest brothers were easy to handle if you knew how to deal with them. Ron was too young to cause much trouble. Fred and George excelled at causing trouble but they would behave for Charlie with the promise of a chance to ride his broom.

That morning Bill went through his school things from his first year at Hogwarts, deciding what to take back to school with him, and what to leave behind at the Burrow. It was a given that anything left behind might fall victim to the twins. Percy disappeared into his room, probably to bury his nose in a book.

The twins followed Charlie outside and begged him to let them fly on his broom, which he had immediately fetched from the shed. He went flying and got their hopes up. It would make that afternoon all the easier.

Ron spent his morning chasing garden gnomes while their mother kept a watchful eye on him, with Ginny trying to toddle after him. She was just starting to get the hang of it, though she probably spent more time falling on her backside than actually running.

After lunch, Charlie was left in charge while his mum brought Bill, Percy, and Ginny through the Floo system to Diagon Alley.

"Can we fly your broom?"

"Please!"

Whenever Charlie was in charge it meant spending the whole time outside playing in the sun, or even in the rain if it was warm enough. More than once the Weasley parents had come home to find half their children, or at least Charlie, Fred, George, and Ron, covered head to toe in mud and soaked to the bone.

"After chores... maybe."

The twins cheered anyway. They knew that whenever Charlie said maybe he would cave and let them fly his broom. The three of them proceeded to de-gnome the garden as their mother had requested before she left, Ron laughing and clapping as gnomes sailed through the air. Charlie, Fred, and George competed to see who could throw their gnomes the furthest. As he was six years older than them Charlie had a clear advantage.

It wasn't long before Charlie noticed that Ron was no longer interested in the de-gnoming. The youngest male Weasley was squatting at the edge of their yard, peering into the bushes that made up their slightly disheveled hedgerow.

Charlie left Fred and George still flinging gnomes, yelling back to scold them when one hit him on the head. They both grinned at him innocently, identical grins that made it impossible to tell which one had been responsible, and Charlie rolled his eyes. He would have to start teaching the twins more about quidditch. They had wicked aim.

"What are you looking at Ron?" Charlie asked quietly so as not to spook his youngest brother.

Ron turned his head to look at Charlie, overbalanced and fell on his rear, but still pointed into the boxwood, "It's dead."

Charlie narrowed his eyes, picked Ron up, and set him further away from whatever it was he had found, "Did you touch it?"

Ron shook his head and Charlie smiled him, ruffling the famous bright red Weasley hair. He was relieved. His parents had lectured him thoroughly, telling him multiple times that dead things could make you sick if you touched them.

Charlie got down on his knees, not knowing what he might find in those bushes. He pulled apart the branches to see what the mound of greyish fur was and saw a long bare tail that had a worm-like quality. He held up the branches and pulled at the leaves that the rat had curled up on, and partially under.

Ron was wrong. The tiny chest rose just barely and the rat made a pathetic whimpering sound as it was moved. It was not dead, but it was close to it.

"Stand back Ron," Charlie commanded.

As he had done for Errol many years ago, and countless other creatures, Charlie removed his shirt and wrapped up the injured animal. It looked like it had been in a fight, or maybe more than one. It was scratched up and cut and it was missing a finger off one paw, but that looked like an old injury, fully healed.

He ran back to the house, Ron following as quickly as his little two-year-old legs would allow him. Fred and George joined them quickly, sensing that something interesting was happening, far more interesting than de-gnoming the garden anyway. Charlie immediately sent them for potions, bandages, and rags.

A small amount of potion was put on a rag, a general healing potion that was necessary to keep on hand for a family that size. Charlie held the potion soaked rag to the rat's mouth.

"You have to drink this," Charlie said softly. He pet the rat gently with one finger, careful to avoid touching any injuries. "This will make you better I promise."

Whether the rat understood him, or if it just drank the potion from the rag because it was there and the rat was thirsty, Charlie didn't know. Fred and George cheered when the rat drank, and Ron did as well, imitating his brothers. Charlie just grinned.

"Okay," Charlie started giving out orders, "one of you get a small dish of water. We also need some crackers, the kind Mum gives us when we're sick. Also get me a small box, some cotton, and some scraps of flannel from Mum's sewing basket."

The twins ran off eagerly again to fetch the requested items. As Charlie carefully cleaned each scratch and cut with Ron looking on in interest, Charlie instructed Fred and George in making a warm nest for the rat in the box, with the crackers and the water dish in one corner.

"What's wrong with him Charlie?" Fred asked.

Charlie had already identified the rat as male so he didn't bother to correct his brother.

"He's just hurt Fred," Charlie explained. He didn't know why, but he was the only one in the family apart from Fred and George themselves who could easily identify which twin was which. "He looks like he got in a fight, maybe with some other rats, or even a cat."

"Cool," George and Fred breathed together, respect for the rat growing.

"He's also too skinny," Charlie assessed after having cleaning all the wounds. The rat's skin was baggy, like it had lost a lot of weight too quickly. "He needs a lot of food and water."

Fred and George nodded, as if agreeing with Charlie's diagnosis. It was kind of cute, the knowing looks on their faces. He laughed and ruffled their hair, one after the other. They protested but were laughing all the while.

It was perhaps the first time Mrs. Weasley came home after leaving Charlie in charge to find her children inside the house, and all of them still clean. (Well... Ron was only relatively clean. He _was_ only two.) The four boys were all huddled together, peering into a box.

_Not again_, was the thought that instantly crossed her mind.

Molly and Arthur Weasley rarely object to the hobbies their children formed. Bill, like his father, liked to take things apart and put them back together again. Percy liked books, drawing, and doing pretty much anything that didn't involve getting dirty. Fred and George followed Bill and Charlie around, liked anything that included explosions or destruction, and always did their best to disrupt whatever Percy was doing.

It had surprised the Weasleys though, the first time that Charlie had come inside with his hands holding something carefully and explaining to his parents that it hurt. He had only been two.

That had started a trend, and at any given time Charlie had his own makeshift animal hospital operating out of his room. On the day that Molly took Bill to get his school supplies for his second year at Hogwarts, Charlie had three toads, two birds, a squirrel, and a rabbit in his room, all of them in varying stages of convalescence. The inhabitants changed occasionally, one animal being released back into the wild and another taking its place, but there were always at least two patients of the Charlie Weasley animal hospital.

"Mum!" George exclaimed excitedly. "Look at what Ron found!"

Ron looked proud of himself as Mrs. Weasley handed Ginny over to Bill with instructions to put her in her crib for her nap and went over to the table, Percy on her heels.

Charlie was stroking the rat softly. It had eaten a cracker, and drank some water, and was finally sleeping.

"It was almost dead Mum," Charlie smiled up at his mother. He had saved another animal. "If Ron hadn't found him he would have died."

Mrs. Weasley sighed, "What potions did you use?"

Charlie proceeded to describe exactly how he had treated the rat. He didn't use any pain killers, knowing the rat was way too small for potions like that. Charlie never used pain killers with any of his animals, not even those made for children, as they were far too strong.

"Well," Mrs. Weasley pronounced as Bill came back downstairs, "it looks like you've healed him up very well. I suspect you can let him go in the morning."

Charlie felt his eyes widen and his heart sink. He saw that the rat had woken and was watching them all. Something felt wrong and sad, but all Charlie knew was he _couldn't_ release the rat.

"But Mum, he'll die!" Charlie exclaimed unhappily. "He's too weak to let go."

"Charlie," Mrs. Weasley was patient but firm, "you already have seven animals upstairs. Where would you put him?"

"We don't have any Mum," Fred interrupted, probably thinking he had hit on the perfect solution.

Both Charlie and his mother winced slightly. Charlie loved his twin brothers, really he did, but he wouldn't trust them with an animal. Merlin only knew what they might do to it. He looked to Bill and Percy desperately.

"I'll take him Mum," Percy spoke up uncharacteristically.

Everyone there was surprised, except for Ron who was too young to understand. Percy had always done his absolute best to stay as far away from Charlie's room and Charlie's animals as possible. It was far too chaotic and messy for him.

After a moment of hesitation, the box was handed to Percy, who calmly carried it up the stairs towards his room.

It was late that evening when Charlie knocked on Percy's door, having already checked on the animals in his room. The squirrel would be ready to go soon, he judged.

"Who's there?" Percy asked warily. He had a bad history of the twins getting inside his room and causing havoc.

"Charlie."

"Come in."

Charlie entered the room and saw that Percy had put the box on the desk in his room, right by the window where the sun could get in. He had even folded a towel and put it under the box, whether to protect his desk or keep the rat warm Charlie didn't know, but he guessed that Percy was more concerned with the desk.

Charlie walked over to the desk and saw that the rat was sleeping soundly.

"Thanks Percy," Charlie grinned at his younger brother.

Percy shrugged.

"What did you name him?" Charlie asked.

Percy thought for a moment, as if he hadn't thought of naming the rat. Maybe he had only thought to make his room a little extension of Charlie's animal hospital, and didn't think he was getting a permanent pet out of this.

"Scabbers."

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	69. 68: Six Years Too Few, Too Many

**Chapter Sixty-Eight: Six Years Too Few, Too Many**

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Remus Lupin woke one morning only to realize that six years had passed.

To say he woke one morning was not fully accurate. The discerning eye would discover, were the heavy draperies that covered the windows in his room parted, that the sun was in fact setting, not rising. For the past six years Remus had lived a nocturnal life, in deference to the habits of his host.

He had not intended to stay for six years. He had not really intended to impose on Joseph at all. That had been Alastor's doing. Remus remembered Barty Crouch and an Auror he had never met before trying to get him to say he had been in league with... the traitor... working for Voldemort. He had taken a perverse satisfaction in seeing them flinch when he said 'Voldemort' aloud.

They wouldn't take 'No, I'm not a bloody Death Eater' for an answer. Remus wondered if there were perhaps dozens of witches and wizards in Azkaban who had confessions beaten out of them. With wartime rules in place trials were not required in the face of a confession or overwhelming evidence. The very idea of being innocent... in that place... it made him shiver.

Remus was lucky that Crouch never found out what he was, or they wouldn't have even bothered questioning him. With his protection from the Potters gone Remus would have been tossed in a cell without a second thought, without a shred of remorse. Albus might have been able to help, but it was far easier to prevent someone from going to Azkaban than to get them out once they were locked away in that fortress prison. Besides, Albus had already done enough, risked enough for Remus already.

So Remus must have passed out at some point during the interrogation. He guessed it was due to a combination of the effects of Nick's latest attempt at his potion, the shock of his loss, and the brutal interrogation technique being used. He had woken at Joseph's, with Alastor and Joseph there, and after Alastor left Joseph had insisted that Remus stay as long as he wanted.

He was with his own kind now... where he belonged some would say. Remus snorted at the thought.

Standing, Remus stretched and walked over to a window, pulling the drapes open. He caught his reflection in the windowpanes and a hollow little laugh escaped.

"You look bloody horrible," Remus told himself. He was paler than ever before, as he had only glimpses of the sun for six years, and had lost quite a bit of weight. He fit right in.

Despite his appearance, despite the acceptance, despite his discovery that there were many other 'dark creatures' like him, he did not feel like he belonged in Joseph's house.

The six years... amazing that it had been that long... had passed in a haze of grief, conversation, chess, books... some so old that their pages threatened to crumble until Remus cast preserving charms on the entire library... and, Remus admitted to himself with a bit of a flush rising on his cheeks, quite a bit, or a lot of indiscriminate sex. There had been vampires, other werewolves, male or female it hadn't mattered.

In his school years there had been temptation and Remus had absolutely refused to submit, with that one glaring exception. After, he had been too busy fighting, learning, working, doing everything he possibly could for the Order.

Then he had found himself in a place where there were no Ministry restrictions, and many willing bodies, and Remus, in the overwhelming grief and pain from the loss of his pack, took comfort in whatever form it was offered.

There had been a time when Remus worried about James, about the sheer number of partners his friend went through in such a short time. Another hollow laugh escaped. Now, Remus was sure, he had far surpassed James in that regard.

The thought of James was still painful, like a silver knife twisting in his heart, his image fixed forever in Remus's mind as he had last seen him at Harry's first birthday party. James was forever twenty-one years old, frozen in youth for eternity.

Thoughts of James led to thoughts of Lily, then Peter, then... the traitor... whose name he could still not think, let alone speak.

Had there really been a time when Remus was convinced he would die before the rest of his pack? He knew now he had assumed that was so, had relied on it, denied the possibility that any of them would leave him.

His pack... only two of them left alive, and free, and true... and Remus knew he could never see Harry, his Cub, beautiful little Harry with James's hair and Lily's eyes. Remus knew Petunia, though he had only met her a few times, knew she would be hard on Harry. If Remus went to that house he knew he would not be able to stop the wolf from taking his Cub away, away from Dumbledore's safety into the danger of a life with Remus. One point where Remus agreed with the Ministry... no werewolf was fit to raise a child.

Tears escaped unhindered from the corners of his eyes. Remus reached out and touched the cool glass, leaned into it. He was wallowing, drowning in his grief, and it needed to stop. Six years was far too long to indulge in such behavior, yet he had no doubt that even eternity would never be enough. He was grateful to Joseph for letting him live there, feeding him, protecting him, helping him when he had nowhere else to go, no one else to turn to.

There were others who would have taken him in he knew. Nick and Ellie... they had been so upset that he left, had pleaded through the letters they sent with Fawkes for Remus to return to them, but he couldn't. Dumbledore hadn't said a word, written or otherwise, but lending Fawkes for the Flamels to use was enough. He also thought Remus should return.

What he told Alastor was true. At that point in time, beaten and grieved, Remus had wanted nothing at all to do with any other witch or wizard. He wanted nothing of the wizarding world. He wanted no reminders of his pack, the Marauders, his father, the Potters, Edgar Bones, the Prewett brothers... it was all too much.

Remus was alone and empty and any further reminder would have crushed him. He barely had managed to get through each night as it was. His nightmares (he was sleeping during the day but 'daymares' just didn't work) were bad enough without seeing their names in the _Daily Prophet_ or hearing others talk about them.

He hadn't responded to any of the letters from Nick and Ellie and eventually they gave up. Some day he would make contact, but until then... well they were essentially immortal and could wait.

The only wizard he had stayed in any contact with was Davey Gudgeon, and he had gone almost entirely muggle. Davey was at University getting an advanced degree of some sort in Archaeology, and had married a muggle. Remus had attended the wedding with Joseph, and there had only been a handful of wizards there, easy for a werewolf to avoid. Davey even had a daughter, named after Remus, and had named Remus her godfather, which was only possible because it was done the muggle way.

As the sky turned to black and Remus's reflection grew sharper in the window glass he felt the household stirring.

Joseph's house was odd. When Remus had first visited to set up wards for his friends he thought the many vampires that resided there were in the house because of the war. There was safety in numbers after all, not just from Voldemort and his Death Eaters, but from their fellow vampires as well.

Their numbers had not lessoned when the war ended and Remus learned much about vampires, probably more than any other wizard ever would. The wizarding world thought them solitary creatures, but only because they almost never came into contact with them. Vampire preferred to live in large social groups. They rarely killed, as it was enough to drain small amounts of blood from many humans (animal just didn't taste as good). The vampires that killed were like the Death Eaters, and all vampires got a bad reputation as a result.

He also discovered that it was not at all unusual for werewolves to attach themselves to vampires. It was one of the only ways to assure that they didn't attack someone during the full moon. Vampires were protectors, able to control the wolf when the moon was full, keeping the wolf from hurting anyone.

Remus had already known that much, as Joseph had acted in that way for him a few times, but had not known it was common practice.

On the full moon Remus could almost depend on there being ten or twelve other werewolves in the house, all of them made docile by the vampires who were their friends, or in some cases lovers, or even masters. Remus had spent more than one full moon running with as close to a true wolf pack as he would ever get.

Still... he did not belong here. There was the fact that he was the only wizard that ever entered the house – no full humans ever came, as it simply was not that safe, and no wizard or witch had been made a vampire for as long as anyone there could remember – but it was more than that. For a time Remus had been enthralled with the opportunity to speak with beings that had actually _seen_ the fall of Rome, the medieval witch burnings, the Renaissance. He guessed that he had exhausted Joseph's library in his first two years.

While Remus was there, though, he was allowed to live in such an extreme state of denial that he had barely noticed the passing of years. When he woke that night it had been like waking from a six year long dream, some of it good but not all. Joseph had tried to talk to him at first, to get Remus to face what had happened, but Remus would have none of it.

It was time for Remus to learn how to survive on his own. He had been dependent on others his entire live and he was nearly thirty years old. It was about time he got on with things.

For a time Remus had expected his curse to kick in and kill him. After all, he was already past his life expectancy. It might have been Nick's potions, or the Elixir of Life, but whatever it was Remus realized he wasn't going to die any time soon. He needed to start living rather than waiting for death.

Sounds came through the halls, too quiet for human ears to pick up. Vampires were stirring, some of them leaving the house immediately to hunt, others waiting to feed later, each according to his or her needs.

Remus dressed, vaguely noticing that the clothes he wore were the same ones he had owned six years ago and were getting worn. He walked quietly down to the kitchen, where he was the only one. At that time there was not another werewolf in the house, as it was a new moon. His breakfast was simple, one fried egg and two pieces of toast. Remus hadn't eaten meat in years.

Resolved in his new course, Remus went to Joseph's study. Joseph almost always hunted near sunrise, holding out against his hunger as long as he could, unless he had business with humans. In those cases he always fed before meeting with them to assure his hunger did not distract him.

"Remus," Joseph smiled and motioned towards a chair, which Remus automatically sat in.

"I have to leave," Remus stated bluntly.

The smile faded and Joseph sat up straighter, a little sigh escaping. "I have known for a long time that this day would come. This life is not for you Remus. What will you do?"

Remus shrugged. He had decided to go, but now he had to figure out where he was going, and how he would live. He still did not want to be involved in the wizarding world.

"I think I'll see Nick and Ellie briefly," Remus smoothed his trouser legs nervously, "and from there maybe travel a bit. I have some money from my father, and the Potters. I should be fine for a while."

"Yet you still want nothing to do with witches and wizards," Joseph peered at him knowingly and Remus nodded, his face tightly controlled, not showing the pain that still lingered. "You have your father's cottage still..."

Remus shook his head strongly, "No. Too many of them know where it is."

"Where will you transform?"

"I don't know," Remus was starting to feel trapped, helpless. He hadn't really thought this through. He only knew he couldn't stay, yet he was starting to think he couldn't go.

"Will you allow me to help you?" Joseph asked calmly and Remus snapped his head up, hopeful, nodding. "Very well. I will visit Diagon Alley and your vault for you. I will find you a safe place to transform. Will that be sufficient?"

He thought for a moment. With those bits taken care of Remus would have few, or no worries. There was only one other thing, "Lease my father's cottage. I can't go back there, not now."

Joseph smiled and stood, and Remus followed suit. The vampire held him in a fragile hug, neither of them using the incredible strength they possessed. Joseph offered the use of his desk to Remus and Remus wrote out a letter for Joseph, giving him legal authority regarding all of Remus's holdings, monetary and property.

"I will take care of this immediately," Joseph folded the paper, imbued with Remus's magical signature for the goblins, and tucked it in his inside pocket. He was gone almost before Remus knew it.

Hours later he returned, his skin mildly flushed with new blood. He handed several scrolls, a bag heavy with coins, and a set of keys to Remus, who was astonished at how quickly Joseph had worked.

"Be safe child," Joseph told him in parting, with a much firmer hug than their last, "and remain in touch."

"I will," Remus promised, returning the hug with equal force. Now that his leaving was assured he was having doubts.

With the force of will that had allowed Remus to survive since the age of four when he was bitten and changed forever, he walked away from Joseph and back to his room. There he packed his belongings, charmed the trunk to shrink to resemble a small suitcase, and pulled on a coat. It was winter, and dawn was only a few hours off.

He was feeling a bit tired, which was to be expected. Normally Remus would be getting ready for bed about that time. Instead he was walking out of the house he had not left for six years. He looked back and saw Joseph in the window of the study, hand lifted in a final wave.

Remus smiled softly, knowing Joseph could see, and apparated away.

It was much harder to face this door than it had been to walk out the other. Remus had walked for a while first, steeling himself, preparing for all the possible outcomes of his next action. The sun was starting to creep over the horizon, turning the winter sky a brilliant orange, reflecting against the snow.

Shaking ever so slightly Remus raised his hand, made a fist, and knocked. It was several minutes before he heard footsteps approaching. The scent was familiar and something inside him rejoiced after the long separation. Though these people were not pack they were close, and the wolf recognized that.

The door flung open and two voices cried out, "Remus! You're alive!"

He was wrapped in a joint hug and after so many years with others like him these humans seemed so frail and breakable and weak. Remus hugged them back and had to be careful not to hurt their fragile human bodies.

They both stepped away to get a good look at him and he hung his head, ashamed of the way he had left, without a note or a word. They had thought him dead, and reasonably so with the number of years that had gone by since he saw them last.

There was no remonstrance, no scolding. Gentle hands led him inside, remarking on how pale and thin he was, and asking if Joseph had bothered to feed him at all.

Remus couldn't help but laugh a little at that. Ellie had always been so concerned with his eating habits. "I fed myself Ellie. I doubt that I would enjoy sharing Joseph's meals."

Nick and Ellie both wrinkled their noses in distaste at the thought and they brought Remus into the kitchen to share breakfast with them, where Remus ate more under the watchful eye of his substitute mother than he had at any one meal in years.

Food consumed, and Ellie satisfied that Remus had eaten enough, they went into the parlor, which had completely changed since Remus saw it last. He didn't know why he thought the world would remain static without him, and be the same as he had left it when he finally returned, but any illusions he had along those lines were completely shattered.

He sat on a couch that he had never seen before and waited a bit stiffly. He knew he should be relaxed in their presence, with these two people who had always accepted him with everything he was.

They exchanged glances, and Ellie sat across from Remus, Nick next to her. She leaned across the empty space and took his hands in hers, "You are not staying for long Remus, are you?"

Remus shook his head, relieved that they did not assume he was back for good.

"Have there been any symptoms?" Nick asked, his curious nature coming to the fore.

"None," Remus chuckled lightly as they all slipped back into the habits of the time he lived there. "My health has been perfect."

"But you are so pale and thin," Ellie frowned at him.

Remus grinned slightly, "I've been nocturnal Ellie. My skin hasn't seen the sun since I left."

"Well, we'll be changing that," Nick huffed, as though Joseph had locked Remus away and kept him from the light. Remus just continued to smile. It felt good, and the muscles around his mouth told him that it had also been six years since he had used them in that way.

"I thought I would travel a bit," Remus told them, and some of his little fantasies from Hogwarts came to mind. "I'd like to see the libraries, and museums..."

"There we can help you," Ellie was happy, finding something she could do for Remus.

He gave them a curious look, wondering what they meant by that.

"Remus," Nick said in his 'you should know this' tone, "Alexandria, for example, will not admit you without a Mastery certificate, or a letter of introduction. A few pieces of parchment from Ellie and myself will gain you entrance to places many could never of dream of going."

Remus felt his eyes light up, his chest grow warm. Thoughts of ancient volumes of knowledge to pour through, endless rows of books that few would ever see filled his mind and he was suddenly eager to get started.

"Where will you transform?" Ellie asked him, echoing Joseph.

"I have a place in Budapest, far away from the wizarding sector. It will be safe. I can apparate there for a few days each month," Remus assured them.

Both Flamels nodded, knowing it was useless to try to persuade Remus. He was stubborn and once his mind was decided there was no turning back. They did, however, manage to convince him to stay in their home for several days, helping him to adjust his sleeping patterns and put on a little weight. Nick provided him with a potion that would prevent his skin from burning as it was reintroduced to the sun, and with several years' supply of potions to use after his transformations.

With potions in his trunk, and scrolls of introduction tucked safely into a cloak that felt a bit odd on his shoulders, and a firm promise from Ellie and Nick that they would not reveal his visit or his travel plans, Remus left their home to start his life over again.

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	70. 69: Finding Remus

**Chapter Sixty-Nine: Finding Remus**

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It was hot in Paris in the summertime. Nevertheless, Remus sipped at a café au lait, sitting in a wrought iron chair at a petite wrought iron table that had a striped umbrella rising through the center and blocking the sun. He was in long sleeves that hid his scars, but the material was lightweight linen with cooling charms.

Something about Parisians made them completely ignore the weather in favor of the latest fashions, and it brought out Remus's cynical side. He laughed at them silently as they struggled not to show even a bead of perspiration. Remus enjoyed watching the crowds as they passed him.

Though the people of the city amused him, Remus found he was always pulled back there, that he loved the people, the city itself, France. It was in his blood, and would never leave. He had seen the world now, but only two places could ever feel like home. There was England, where he refused to go, and France.

He did not fear recognition. Remus's mother had last seen him when he was fifteen, and he had changed much since then. There was also the knowledge that she could not get within half a kilometer of him without him detecting her scent and leaving the area immediately. In the city she could get closer, perhaps even within a block, as the jumble of scents would confuse his senses somewhat.

Remus looked very different than when he had shown up on the Flamels' doorstep without warning. He was still thin as a wand, and Ellie would have practically tied him to a chair and force fed him if she knew, but his skin had darkened from reading in the park often. Remus's hair had also lightened a bit with exposure to the sun and the sandy strands had some more blond highlights.

Paris knew him as Jacques Lune, a quiet scholar that tutored students from the University in languages, mathematics, history, and the sciences. The money he earned was enough to pay the rent on his studio apartment, buy a sufficient amount of food to survive on, and that was all Remus needed. He had access to more money, but that would mean going to a branch of Gringotts, and he would rather eek out his meager existence.

Perhaps he was a bit eccentric, as he could be found reading by candlelight at nearly any time of the night, claiming that artificial light was too strong. He left Paris monthly for only a few days, and his students believed that he was visiting his father's grave.

No one ever learned anything of his history beyond what he first offered. They knew that he was born in France, moved to England when he was still young, attended a prestigious private school, and had spent many years traveling and studying on his own. Though he never spoke of it, they knew that in that time somewhere his father had died. His mother was never mentioned.

The café Remus sat at was near the Eiffel Tower, and was a popular spot for tourists. He liked it for that reason, for the anonymity it afforded him. Not once had Remus entered Wizarding Paris, though he had located the entrances quickly. The magic fairly pulsed from a few spots in Paris, one of them interestingly enough inside the Louvre.

None of Remus's students would venture near this cafe, as they would not dream of mixing with the tourists. He smiled into his cup. Paris itself might change, but her residents never would, and that suited him just fine. Now and then he would see another wizard or witch on the streets, but none of them had been powerful enough to detect his presence.

He responded now to the letters that Nick and Ellie sent him and kept them updated on his travels. He sent them articles and essays he wrote, which they passed on to a variety of journals, both magic and muggle, all under his various pseudonyms. Through them he also published a few books. Any royalties or payments he earned were deposited in Gringotts and sat there collecting dust.

In Paris Remus was relaxed. He worked just enough to live, and spent the rest of his time reading and writing. He figured he had learned enough over the past several years to obtain at least three Masteries, granted that any Ministry was willing to test him.

"Do you mind if I sit here?"

Remus almost fell out of his chair.

"Damn you Albus," Remus cursed in his frustration, causing his old headmaster to look at him in amusement. Still, Remus almost never cursed. That was as harsh as his language got lately. "How did you mask your scent... and your magic?"

Albus twinkled at him and Remus growled, low and deep. The Hogwarts Headmaster knew very well that Remus wanted no contact with the wizarding world. He had no right to track him down and interrupt his peace.

"That, my boy, was a rather tricky bit of magic that I am quite proud of," Albus signaled a waiter and ordered a drink for himself in flawless French, then continued their conversation in English. "Do you know how difficult it was to find you? Fawkes actually refused to bring me to you."

At that Remus grinned his Marauder grin. Not only did everyone who knew his whereabouts and had any contact with wizards and witches, all four of them, swear an oath to never reveal that information, but Remus had also cast a series of charms, some of which he invented himself, so that he could not be tracked through his magical signature or any other magical means.

"How long?" Remus was intrigued to know how well his charms worked.

Albus sighed, "I've been searching for a few wizards since early June."

Remus frowned. It was nearing mid-August. Albus had gotten through Remus's protections much more quickly than he would have liked. Of course, it was Albus, and anyone else would have much more trouble.

Albus's wording sparked something in Remus's mind and he looked at his old headmaster sharply, "A few wizards?"

A copy of the _Daily Prophet_ appeared from Albus's robes and was slid onto the table. The headline that practically screamed at Remus made his fists clench so tightly that the paper tore in two in his hands.

"As I told Alastor, I want nothing to do with wizards and witches," Remus said in a low tone as their waiter reappeared with Albus's drink. The man did not notice the robes, and Remus assumed that Albus had some sort of muggle confusing charm on them. He held up one half of the paper, "this wizard especially."

There was a deep sigh from Albus, "I had hoped to offer you a job." Remus just lifted his eyebrows. "I am in need of a Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. My last two are dead, and in St. Mungo's, respectively."

"Who?" Remus had no intention of accepting. Albus was insane simply to offer the job to Remus.

"The most recent was Gilderoy Lockhart –"

Remus burst out laughing. He couldn't help himself. "You gave that _imbecile_ a job teaching _children_? Are you feeling well Albus?"

Albus glared and Remus's laughter subsided. He supposed there was only so far he could push. "I have not had much choice in recent years. It is rumored that the job is cursed, and so I get very few applicants, especially as the professors continue to disappear under mysterious circumstances."

"England holds nothing for me Albus. I have no desire to see it ever again," Remus asserted.

"I will attempt to change your mind," Albus drank some of his cappuccino.

Remus nodded, accepting that Albus would try. He was also aware that Albus was showing far more of his emotions than usual, perhaps in an attempt to assure Remus's trust. After all, the headmaster had no idea what the years had done to Remus. "Tell me what happened to your professors. I am interested in how Lockhart wound up in Mungo's."

Albus smirked just a bit and Remus's interest deepened. Damn the man, he was sucking Remus in.

"Both instances in the past two years involve the same student," Albus informed Remus. "The first of the two professors, Quirenious Quirrell, attempted to steal the Sorcerer's Stone, which was in Hogwarts at the time. He was, rather unfortunately, being possessed by the spirit of Voldemort at the time and drinking unicorn blood to stay alive. He died in the attempt and the Stone was destroyed."

Remus felt his heartbeat quicken, "Nick and Ellie?"

"They have a store of Elixir set aside that should hold them through many years," Albus's tone and eyes softened. "You need not fear for them Remus."

He nodded. Remus finished his drink and set down the cup. He had missed it, but Albus had retrieved the remains of the _Daily Prophet_ and Remus no longer had to see that picture... so terribly unlike the face he remembered... that name in print.

"And Lockhart?" Remus questioned, forcing the images out of his mind.

"The Chamber of Secrets opened this year," Albus started.

Remus broke in, "In the haunted second floor girl's bathroom?"

He had never seen Albus Dumbledore gape before, but just them he resembled a hooked fish, "How..."

"I always knew there was a room there that I couldn't enter," Remus shrugged. "It was a lucky guess more than anything else. It felt right."

Albus shook his head and composed himself, "I wish I had found you sooner. Luckily, no one died, thanks to the interference of the student I mentioned. Gilderoy was hit with a backfired memory charm. He has no idea of who he is."

"An improvement them," Remus couldn't help himself.

Albus's head tilted down just slightly and he looked at Remus in disapproval. Remus felt himself flushing liked a scolded child. He supposed he had been out of line just a bit.

"You mentioned a student was involved?" Remus picked up on Albus's early comments, and wondered why he hadn't named the student. In all likelihood the name wouldn't mean anything to Remus. "Even the Marauders never got into anything that the professors were involved in, or trying to keep a lid on."

"Yes," Albus's eyes were twinkling again, "though Harry does not attempt to get involved. He stumbles into these things quite innocently."

At the name Remus felt a yearning from the center of his being. He had to close his eyes tightly and fight against the thousands of questions that wanted to spill out. All that he had been trying to forget, to escape, was flooding his heart, and it felt as though it was beating with more life than in many years.

"Harry?" Remus choked the name out. Albus could be referring to another Harry for all he knew. Mothers and fathers may have latched onto the name after Voldemort fell and there could be a dozen of them at Hogwarts. He quickly figured his Cub's age, and figured that he would be entering his third year at Hogwarts... and Albus wanted Remus to teach. It would be both wonderful and torturous, to see his Cub yet not be able to tell him anything.

"Yes Remus," Albus spoke softly. "We have reason to believe that Black is looking for Harry. He has somehow stayed sane all these years Remus. You know the castle even better than I do. I want you at Hogwarts to protect Harry."

Anger swelled up, and Remus felt it battling the anguish, and the desire. He really had no option, as Albus well knew. A member of his pack was in trouble, interestingly enough from another pack member.

"You knew I would accept before you came Albus," Remus was feeling off-balance and he was most unhappy by it. "Why didn't you tell me right off, instead of leading along the path like that?"

"For the simple reason that I did not know Remus," Albus sounded a touch sad, and Remus knew it was somehow his doing. "I have not seen you nor heard word of you in nearly twelve years."

"Did you agree with the Ministry Albus?" Remus gave the headmaster a searching look, wondering why he had put him through all of that.

"Rarely," Albus allowed himself to smile a little, "and in your case no, I most certainly did not, and the majority of the Aurors office agreed with me. It may interest you to know that Barty Crouch's son was a Death Eater, and is now in Azkaban. Barty is Head of International Magical Cooperation."

"Shunted to the side," Remus shook his head. He felt no sympathy for the man. Barty Crouch was brutal and self-serving. He would have sent his own mother to Azkaban for advancement. Hearing that Albus had never doubted him meant a lot to Remus though.

"There are some details to take care of Remus," Albus said leadingly.

Remus sighed and looked up at the sky. There were indeed details. The term started in less than a month and Remus did not have lessons plans, or any idea of how to teach more than a few people at a time. He was not looking forward to transforming in the Shrieking Shack, as it held far too many memories, but at least he would have Poppy when it was all over. He would need to end the lease on his father's cottage in case he needed a place in England.

"I will not stay permanently Albus," Remus said firmly. "I will insure that my Cub is safe, and that is all. I would not step one foot on British soil for any other reason."

The sad look in Albus's eyes did not weaken Remus's resolve, though it did make him feel a bit of guilt.

"I could not dream of forcing you into something you do not want Remus," Albus said in his usual tone. "The letters have already gone out of course, along with the booklists. You will have to work with the books that I set." He handed a parchment to Remus, who snorted upon reading it.

"Seeing that I wrote, or at least contributed to most of them I don't see how that will be a problem," Remus rolled his eyes. Albus was twinkling away, firmly in the role of the master manipulator.

"There are lesson plans written for each year, though I fear they have not been followed the past two years," Albus continued as though Remus had said nothing. "You may have to adjust them as you go to compensate for at least one year of poor instruction."

"In other words, the fifth and seventh year students are nowhere near the level they need for their Ministry exams at the end of the year," Remus translated dryly.

Albus kept talking, going over the requirements for Hogwarts staff members, other responsibilities Remus would have, and Remus only half-listened, storing the information in his mind to go over later, until Albus got to his transformations, "As a member of my staff you are entitled to the best health care that the school can provide for you, so my Potions Master will be making the Wolfsbane Potion for you monthly."

Had Remus been drinking, the contents of his mouth would sprayed out to stain Albus's robes. He knew that Nick had finished his potion, but Remus had not been able to afford it without going to Gringotts and would not accept it free from Ellie and Nick. It had been one of their many topics of conversation in the days after he left Joseph's house.

"Am I correct to assume your Potions Master is still Severus Snape?" Remus asked warily.

Albus nodded, twinkle increasing, "Of course."

"Are you trying to kill both of us?"

"I would never dream of harming any member of my staff." Albus did not sound offended, or upset, but only spoke as though they were discussing the weather. "How is your Patronus?"

"Strong," Remus adopted another wary look. His day was progressively getting more stressful. He drew out his next word, mentally cursing the situation he was in, and cursing the traitor even more strongly in his mind. If it wasn't one thing with him, it was another. "Why?"

The twinkle disappeared. The gaze darkened. "Cornelius Fudge has determined that the only way Black will be caught is to place dementors around Hogwarts."

"Dementors?" If Remus had been less controlled he would be yelling. He paused for a minute, "And who is Cornelius Fudge?"

"The Minister of Magic," Albus shook his head.

Remus ran his fingers through his hair, "I think I have a lot of reading to do."

"Come with me to Hogwarts tomorrow. Irma has back issues of the _Prophet_ in the library," another different name, Remus noted, "and you can get settled. I just want you to ride the train, in particular to ride in the compartment Harry and his friends normally sit in."

Remus nodded fatalistically. He really had no choice. He was going back to England, back to Hogwarts, and was going to see his Cub again for the first time in twelve years.

That day Remus informed all his students that there was a family emergency in England, which was entirely true, and he was going to be there for at least eight months. He arrived at Hogwarts dressed in muggle clothes, not willing to be anything other than what he was. Remus accepted that he would have to wear robes around the students, but they could live with his old robes that had been packed away since Remus was twenty-one years old.

He spent nearly two weeks in the library, finding out what had happened in the wizarding world since he had left it. He set up his office and classroom, and did his best to avoid Severus Snape, something he guessed was being aided by Snape. Luckily, with Remus's nose and ears it was a fairly easy task.

Minerva, as she insisted being called now, and Poppy greeted him warmly, almost exuberantly. Hagrid nearly crushed Remus with the hug he gave him, and would have if Remus was not a werewolf. The half-giant was bawling, and once he stopped he insisted on Remus joining him for tea and regaling him with tales about Harry and his two close friends. The name Ron Weasley brought a smile to Remus's face. It was nice that the nephew of Gideon and Fabian was friends with James and Lily's son.

The worst was hearing about Frank and Alice. Minerva had been horrified that Remus hadn't known, and extremely apologetic for casually bringing it up. Remus pushed it to the back, with all the rest of his pain. He inspected the entrances in and out of the school that he knew, and found one tunnel that had caved in since his time. That would make patrolling much easier.

If only he had the Map. He checked with Argus Filch, who had replaced Pringle, but it was nowhere in his files. Either Pringle destroyed it, or some student had found it. The Marauder side of Remus hoped that it would be the latter.

When he had read all he could of ridiculous articles on the current Minister, and the _Prophet_ rumors about Harry, Remus started creating another Map. He made it larger, and figured that once he had the basics down he might be able to approach Albus this time to get access to deeper information on the castle.

At the end of August Remus packed a small suitcase and went to Diagon Alley, nearly holding his breath as he entered. He stayed the night at the Leaky Cauldron, spying the Weasleys and Harry from afar, along with a muggle-born girl that had to be Hermione Granger. He left for King's Cross station early in the morning to arrive before all the students did.

Remus settled himself in a compartment at the back of the train and closed his eyes. He could not stand 'meeting' Harry for the first time with all his senses working. It would not do at all to scare the boy out of wits with the wolf's reaction to seeing his Cub. Explaining why the new professor was hugging him tightly and refusing to let to go would be awkward at the very least.

The students began arriving, and all of them avoided sitting with the new professor. He soon detected Harry's scent, unchanged from when he was only a year old, accompanied by two others. They certainly had a lot to learn, as they saw no threat in his presence and assumed he was sleeping.

Harry even sounded a bit like James, and Remus was transported to another time. He would have to remember to thank Arthur Weasley sometime for warning Harry. The three children talked and Remus just soaked up being in the presence of his Cub. Something smelled familiar, but he couldn't quite place it, and let it be. He did just fine without lunch, thanks to his irregular eating habits of late. There were times when he would miss even two meals in a row if he was engrossed in a book.

When the train jerked to a halt Remus's protective instincts kicked in. He felt the air growing colder, and immediately recalled the passages he had read concerning dementors. It got dark, and other students came in, one of them Neville Longbottom. Remus was meeting all the children of his old friends quickly. He quieted the students and prepared to inspect the situation, but the compartment door opened before he could reach it.

Screams echoed in his head, mixed with howls, and Remus ignored them. He lived his worst memories every month, and the dementors did nothing to him that nature did not do much more regularly. He tried to ignore the scream that came from Harry, as panicking would not help him.

Remus summoned up a happy memory, the presence of Harry giving him his inspiration to recall the moment he first held him. He spoke with quiet authority, "None of us is hiding Sirius Black under our cloaks. Go."

_Expecto Patronum!_

The dementor left quickly and Remus checked the children. Albus had prepared him for such a possibility and Remus pulled some chocolate from his pockets, handing it out to Harry, who had just woken, insisting he eat it. Remus had to restrain himself as he saw Lily's eyes peering at him from James's face. It was almost too much. Luckily Harry spoke and broke the spell.

"What was that thing?" Harry asked him.

"A dementor," Remus replied, nearly giving in the urge to scoop Harry up and just get him out of England, maybe secret him away with Joseph who could certainly protect Harry from Sirius. Joseph had already disliked Sirius before his true colors were revealed. He handed out the rest of the chocolate to the other students. "One of the dementors of Azkaban."

"Eat," Remus repeated as they all just stared at him. "It'll help. I need to speak to the driver, excuse me..."

He left the compartment and sucked in a deep breath. He'd had to rely on his less obvious scenes to assure that Harry was well, and learned he was anything but. Harry was too skinny, his clothes too big, ridiculously so. Petunia was getting a howler as soon as Remus could manage it.

Meanwhile he went forward and had the conductor send an owl ahead to Albus. That would have been a howler too if Remus hadn't held back. Dementors had no place near children... but then some would argue that Remus didn't either.

_Damn you Albus_, Remus cursed silently once more. He belonged at Hogwarts no more than he did when he was a student, but he couldn't leave, not while his Cub was in trouble.

He finally smiled when he returned to the compartment and saw none of them had eaten the chocolate yet, "I haven't poisoned that chocolate, you know..."

The rest of the trip was silent. At Hogwarts, Remus was not at all surprised to see a miniature duplicate of Lucius Malfoy. The way he and Harry interacted, and the Weasley boy stepping in and standing up for Harry, was far too familiar.

It was difficult to leave Harry, but he was safely in Minerva's hands, and... more importantly... safely within Hogwarts' wards. Remus entered Hogwarts and the great hall with the students, feeling the pull towards the Gryffindor table as if he was still one of them, but he took his seat at the staff table, and did his best to ignore Severus Snape's harshest glare to date.

Remus shook his head sadly. It looked like Snape would never get over that night.

Poppy joined them and Remus leaned over to her, "You saw him?"

"Of course Remus," Poppy smiled at him. "I am quite glad to have you here. Perhaps I will actually have some peace and quiet this year."

"With me here?" Remus gave her a disbelieving look.

Poppy laughed and several students gave them curious looks. Remus let his gaze drift around the hall, seeing faces that he remembered, the children of people he had known, friends and enemies both, a new generation with the same quarrels as their parents.

He was still irritated that he had been drawn back here, but Remus was finding himself interested to meet these smaller versions of the Longbottoms, Malfoys, Spinnets, and Abbotts. There was the Bones girl that Albus had warned him would be in his classes, Edgar's niece.

Remus newly realized that perhaps he had a responsibility to make sure that the tragedies that befell the parents, aunts, and uncles of these children did not destroy the children as well. He would give them a year at least and after that...

He would have to decide when the time came.

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	71. Appendix

**Release the Wolves**

**Appendix**

**The Official Marauders Code of Conduct **

**Revised Edition**

Code 1: Marauders stick together.

Code 2: There are four Marauders. The number of Marauders shall be four, and four shall be the number of Marauders.

Code 3: I solemnly swear I am up to no good.

Code 4: Marauders may hex each other, but only with just provocation, ruled on by the innocent, yeah right, bystander Marauders.

Code 5: There is no Code 5.

Code 6: Should any Marauder break a Marauder's Code, said Marauder's punishment shalt be determined by all other Marauders. The guilty Marauder will feel compelled to right their wrongs.

Code 7: No Marauder may share any Marauder secrets with non-Marauders.

Code 8: The Pack comes first.

Code 9: Should any Marauder actually have children someday, said children shall be automatically deemed Honorary Marauders.

Code 10: Marauders are Marauders for life and beyond.

Code 11: No Marauder shall join You-Know-Who for any reason whatsoever.

Code 12: No prank is too big, no prank is small, no prank is unworthy of a Marauder granted that the prank does not cause permanent harm.

Code 13: Gryffindors Rule. Slytherins Suck.

Code 14: Marauders shalt not rat each other out to professors, prefects, Head Boy, Head Girl, Slytherins, or prank victims.

Code 15: When a Marauder is having trouble every other Marauder is duty bound to help said Marauder.

Code 16: Remus Jacques Lupin is the alpha wolf and brain.

Code 17: James Aaron Potter is the front man.

Code 18: Sirius Constantine Black is crazy one.

Code 19: Peter Charles Pettigrew is the guinea pig.

Code 20: There are no secrets between Marauders.

Code 21: Credit for a prank may only be claimed in the name of the Marauders.

Code 22: Marauders are purveyors in the aid of magical mischief.

Code 23: All blackmail material is common property of all Marauders.

Code 24: The night of the full moon is the time for fun and games.

Code 25: All Slytherins are fair game.

Code 26: Revenge is sweet.

Code 27: The Marauder's Map is not to be revealed to any non-Marauders.

Code 28: James's invisibility cloak shalt not be exposed to non-Marauders, with the exception of other Potters and anyone James deems worthy.

Code 29: Davey Gudgeon, AKA Cyclops, may be considered a Junior Marauder and participate in pranks, but shalt not be privy to all Marauder secrets.

Code 30: Mssrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prong shall be the official names of the Marauders.

Code 31: Honorary Marauders may be appointed by unanimous consent of all Marauders or are automatically inducted upon completing a bonding ritual with a Marauder.

Code 32: Lily Evans is an Honorary Marauder and may be included in all Marauder secrets.

Code 33: Pranks shalt not be played on Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

Code 34: Harold James Potter, Honorary Marauder according to Code 9, was born July 31, 1980 at 9:42 am at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, weighing 6 pounds and 5 ounces, to Lily Elizabeth Evans Potter and James Aaron Potter after 15 hours of labor and 20 hexes before we took away Lily's wand. Harry shall be raised as befitting a Marauder, entitled to all the privileges and heritage thereof, and though Padfoot is his Godfather of record every Marauder is responsible for his happiness and wellbeing. Welcome into the Pack, our first cub.

_James Aaron Potter_

_Remus Jacques Lupin_

_Sirius Constantine Black_

_Peter Charles Pettigrew_

_Lily Elizabeth Evans Potter_

5


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